Oral pathology and implantology
Digital Dentistry
Modern dentistry has to deal with different technologies, especially with digital technologies, which have now become a reality, digital technologies are in fact used in many fields of medicine and dentistry. Digital technologies can be used in many dental fields, from the digital planning, to the intra oral impression technique, to the Guided Implant surgery and the CAd.-Cam Lab design .
An increasing use of digital technologies for the diagnosis was in fact underlined in recent years and used for the Digital Smile Design, for the Virtual Prosthetic Planning, Guided surgery and implant supported Rehabilitations.
Research activity
Mainly in the diagnostic phase, digital technologies can be used for diagnostic-communicative purposes, such as Smile Design (made with specific software from patient photographs), is a computerized drawing technique of the dental elements that allows the digital study and the more immediate and comprehensible previsualization by the patient of the new smile that will be foreseen by the proposed treatment plan. The digital technologies are certainly advantageous for the diagnostic and prognostic aspect especially as a communication tool to help the patient understand, showing in advance what the aesthetic and functional final result of the proposed treatment will be.
Further application of digital technologies is linked to the surgical-implant diagnostic phase: digital TAC data are now processed within specific Software to obtain more careful evaluations that help the clinician in the decision-making process and during the surgical procedure. Thanks to the development of dental software and hardware it is now possible to match the various stages of the processing, allowing the integration and the dialogue between the various technologies. The clinician is now able to carry out the whole implant-prosthetic rehabilitation in a digital project, previewing the final result. Intraoral scanners also provide the possibility of detecting dental arches without any material, the simplification of data transfer from the study to the laboratory, excellent precision and greater comfort for the treated patient.The CAD-CAM technology will allow the laboratory to produce precise and repeatable artifacts in aesthetic materials.
Therefore, compared to conventional methods, the implementation of the digital workflow in the dental office involves faster and more immediate data acquisition, easier and more aware patient assessment, greater effectiveness in implant-prosthetic treatment planning and production. more rapid and controlled prosthetic products.
The activity of our research group has produced, also in collaboration with other research and clinical groups, articles on the different aspects of “Virtual Patients” as customized therapies for bone regeneration; full digital workflow from guided surgery to prosthesis; digital instruments to acquire patient images; digital instruments to study histological aspects of implant/human bone interface.