21 June,2011 06:59 AM IST | | Priyanka Vora
Patients with extracted or damaged choppers can get them replaced within minutes at the Government Dental College, which has acquired an advanced German technology for designing and remodelling teeth
The city-based Government Dental College has recently acquired a state-of-the art German technology, which will allow dentists to mould a ceramic tooth for any patient within minutes.
This is a breakthrough in the sphere of dentistry, as it curtails the otherwise lengthy procedure and brings down numerous sittings usually required for the replacement.u00a0
A dentist operating on a patient at the Government Dental College
The technology can be used for a variety of corrective processes restoration of decayed teeth, replacement of lost teeth, and refurbishing teeth which have undergone root canal therapy.
Now, patients no longer need to make repeated visits to the hospital. Using CAD/CAM, a computerised designing technology, dentists at GDC can replace the extracted tooth in the very first visit, instead of the three visits usually required for the process.
Usually, dentists take measurements for the ceramic teeth and hand over them to laboratory technicians, who take about 15 to 20 days to produce the finished product.
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This process includes making impressions, pouring in ceramic into a cast, and thereafter sending it to the lab, for the technicians to model the prosthesis.
"By skipping all the conventional processes, our dentists will scan the affected tooth with the help of an intra-oral camera attached to the machine.
The computer will analyse the image, after which the dentist can recommend the necessary corrections. Following this, a block of ceramic is placed in the milling machine, which carves out the artificial tooth in six to ten minutes, depending on its size," explained Dr Mansing Pawar, the dean of GDC.
The dentist added, "By acquiring this technology we have radically reduced treatment time for patients. Moreover, our students can remain updated with the latest modes of treatment available in the world.
We have purchased about 600 ceramic prosthesis blocks along with the machine. This is sure to benefit patients," he said.
The college has ranked third in a recent survey conducted to evaluate the standard of dental education institutes across the country.
