Math Gives Better Attachment For Dental Crowns?

Due to the fact that dental treatment, involving crown replacements runs Swedish people dozens of millions SEK annually, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology are working on the creation of a new method for “determining exactly how to optimally prepare a tooth to place a crown on it.”  They are working to make a new method that is much cheaper and faster; while at the same time improving quality and reliability of the crown replacements.

The researchers at Chalmers, at the initiative of the company Nobel Biocare, are now planning to run clinical tests.

"With current software, you can measure the damaged tooth's dimensions by laser scanning," says Chalmers researcher Evan Shellshear.  "The software then computes the optimal shape of the ground tooth, and the output is a 3-D visualisation of it.  You also get a 3-D animation showing precise suggestions for manoeuvring the cutting tool in order to achieve the final tooth shape safely."

The software is based on advanced math models, and state-of-the-art visualisation technology, including numerous international guidelines for how teeth should be shaped before being fitted with dental crowns.

"Most dentists are very skillful, but no human being can achieve this sort of optimization as efficiently as a computer program," explains the Chalmers researcher and dentist Matts Andersson.  "If the tooth does not have a good fit with the crown, bacteria can accumulate in the gaps, resulting in caries and loosening of the teeth.  A bad fit can also result in problems with the jaw joint or the dental crown can simply fall off."