Dental Materials in the Digital Age

Almost 50 years ago, computer-aided design-computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) technologies and workflows were introduced to dentistry. The benefits of a digital workflow or CAD-CAM processes include an increase in quality and reproducibility, efficiency, and access to newer and nearly defect-free materials. The materials used in CAD-CAM processes can be ceramics, polymers, or metals. If the soft milling strategy is used, manually contoured ceramic restorations are then heat-treated to improve their mechanical and esthetic properties. Additive manufacturing of ceramic restorations is still in the nascent stage. Metal alloys that dental prostheses can be milled from include high-noble, noble, and base metal alloys. Among the base metals, titanium alloys are most commonly used followed by cobalt-chromium alloys.