Archeological evidence suggests that rudimentary dental crowns fashioned with gold and various metals were deployed as early as 2000 BC in ancient civilizations. Today the devices are commonly used to restore damaged teeth, enhance aesthetics, and provide functional solutions for dental problems.
Traditional manufacturing of dental caps is an artisanal process that requires hands-on, exacting standards. When a patient complains that their crown doesn't "feel right," a cascade of health risks - and discomfort - emerge. But what if ill-fitting annoyances were a thing of the past? Hong Kong scientists believe they've broken the mold with superior-quality dental crowns generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
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According to an article published by Science Direct on May 10th, 2023, a research group led by Dr. Hao Ding revealed that AI-generated crowns have "a higher degree of similarity with natural teeth" than popular computer-assisted designs (CAD) from your local dentist office. Investigators used the AI learning method 3D-DCGAN1 to analyze six hundred sets of digital casts obtained from healthy adults, to test their theory.
"During the training process, natural teeth morphological features were learned by the algorithm so that it can design dental crowns comparable to a natural tooth - both morphologically and functionally." Dr. Hao Ding | Dental Tribune, 10 May 2023
As a central feature of the study, "casts containing mandibular second premolars and their adjacent and antagonist teeth were machine-learned using 3D-DCGAN." Researchers inputted an additional 12 sets of data points to generate 12 dental crowns. CEREC2 software compared the AI-generated crowns with CAD prostheses regarding structure and functionality. The results indicated that the 3D-DCGAN design "had the lowest discrepancy in morphology" compared to CAD devices. An added benefit was their ability to distribute stress in the crown more effectively than traditional caps.
Porcelain caps are typically crafted by dental technicians who shape the device to mimic the natural contours and appearance of the patient's surrounding teeth. The process is influenced by stylistic techniques that may feel great for some individuals but irritate others. Occasionally, errors made during fabrication may result in poorly-fitting crowns that cause gum inflammation and tenderness. For instance, if the device fails to evenly distribute the biting force, it can put excessive pressure on parts of the underlying tooth, potentially causing a fracture.
Millions of Americans wear crowns, and there is little indication that the trend is down-turning. Disrupters like Ding are bringing cutting-edge technology to the forefront while revolutionizing societal expectations about oral healthcare. He believes that with increased research, dental professionals will embrace creating bespoke, high-quality prostheses with AI's unparalleled precision and data processing capabilities.
The only question is, do you trust the technique?
AI dental crowns are...
A. A step too far.
B. Innovative!
C. I hope to never need a dental crown.
1 3D-DCGAN | 3D-Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network
2 CEREC | Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics
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