A prototype cae tool for mechanical optimization of dental cad/cam process for all-ceramic restoration

Abstract

Almost all of the world’s population today has faced, are facing or will be facing a dental problem. When a lesion mildly affects the tooth, a bonded fixed partial denture can be proposed. Prosthesis design is currently performed based on geometrical considerations (dental preparation shape, surrounding teeth, for which geometry is acquired prior to design) and recommendations. Frequent prostheses mechanical failures are reported. Surprisingly, however, no mechanical consideration is included in the CAD/CAM process. In this paper, a CAE step in the prosthesis design workflow is proposed based on data that is already acquired and generated (available in the digital workflow). Based on a clinical case, the integration of a mechanical optimization step in the process with no additional handling by the dentist is presented, and its feasibility is proved. The proposed mechanical optimization induces a substantial overstress reduction in the prosthesis. This study paves the way towards the mechanical optimization of each prosthesis produced by CAD/CAM with no additional cost or practitioner training.