Application of time compression techniques to dental restoration: a procedure for quality evaluation

In this work a procedure for evaluating the accuracy of novel manufacturing methods of dental crowns is proposed. The procedure is based on a benchmark specifically designed for dental application. The evaluation procedure starts with the achievement of the Reference Model (ReM), consisting of actual dimensions of the reference artefact. Then the benchmark is digitized. The point-cloud (Virtual Benchmark -VB) is inspected by using a specific RE software to evaluate the accuracy of the digitization step. Thereafter caps are designed and manufactured. After fabrication, the coupling surface of each manufactured cap is inspected and compared with the VB and the ReM to provide information about the accuracy of the manufacturing process and of the whole crown restoration production process, respectively. Two recent techniques are analysed: investment casting of cobalt-chromium (CoCr) alloy from drop-on-demand (DoD) wax patterns and milling of zirconia