CAD CAM dentistry is the digital method of fabricating oral and dental devices. Historically, the analog way was to take molds of the teeth in the form of alginate and putty impressions that were held in the mouth for several minutes to copy the dental environment,
This mold would then be picked up by a lab and used as a basis to make bridges, crowns, implants, splints and also orthodontic appliances. These days a camera that takes over a thousand photos in less than a minute is used. The images are stitched together to render a 3D image that can be emailed to the laboratory for use. The lab will design the appliance or prosthesis on a computer (Computer Aided Design/CAD) and the software will instruct milling equipment to generate and manufacture the device to be used in the patient’s mouth (Computer Aided Manufacture/CAM)
CAD CAM advantages over the traditional method includes: