Fabrication of dental articles using digitally-controlled reductive and digitally-controlled additive processes
By capturing a highly detailed three-dimensional digital model of dentition, a suitable replacement dental article be fabricated with a combination of digitally-controlled reductive processes such as milling and digitally-controlled additive processes such as digital painting. A dental article so-manufactured can provide an aesthetically pleasing, multi-chromatic appearance that closely matches surrounding dentition.
1. A method comprising:
receiving a digital model of a dental article for a dental patient, the dental article including a volume having a bonding surface shaped to attach to a site in human dentition and a functional surface shaped to replace a dental structure removed from the site;
fashioning a mill blank to fabricate the dental article from a first material, the first material being a deformable, curable material;
curing the mill blank;
receiving visual information including color from natural dentition of the dental patient;
fabricating an understructure for the dental article from the mill blank with a digitally-controlled reductive process, the understructure forming the structure of the dental article including a majority of the volume of the dental article; and
adding at least one aesthetic layer of an enamel paint to the understructure using a digitally-controlled paint head and a mounting device collectively operable to move the dental article with three translational degrees of freedom and two rotational degrees of freedom relative to the digitally-controlled paint head, and capable of delivering a controllable color within a natural dentition color space by selecting among two or more different paints for application at a particular location and wherein the digitally-controlled paint head is controlled according to the visual information to create a corresponding surface on the understructure, thereby providing the dental article.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the dental article is a restoration.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the restoration includes a crown.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the restoration includes one or more of a bridge, an inlay, and an onlay.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the dental article is a denture or an implant.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the site includes a prepared surface of a tooth.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein the functional surface is created from a three-dimensional scan of the tooth before preparation.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein the functional surface is created from a template.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the template is modified using three-dimensional data from dentition surrounding the site.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the template is modified using occlusion data from one or more opposing teeth.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the digitally-controlled reductive process includes a milling process.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the digitally-controlled paint head includes a digitally-controlled wirejet paint head configured to deliver paint within a natural dentition color space using on-the-fly mixing of dyes, and further configured to control opacity through fillers within a paint binder.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein adding at least one layer includes fabricating the at least one layer directly on the understructure.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one layer includes a plurality of layers selected to achieve a multi-chromatic appearance of natural dentition.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising affixing the dental article to the site.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital model includes color and opacity information, and wherein adding at least one layer to the understructure includes selecting a material for the at least one layer to correspond to the color and opacity information.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising applying a plurality of materials to obtain a multi-chromatic dental article.
18. A system comprising:
a digitally-controlled milling machine;
a digitally-controlled paint head capable of delivering an enamel paint with a controllable color within a natural dentition color space by selecting among two or more different paints for application at a particular location;
a controller coupled to the digitally-controlled milling machine and the digitally-controlled paint head, the controller programmed to receive a digital model of a dental article for a dental patient and to control operation of the digitally-controlled milling machine to fabricate a shape of the dental article from a mill blank and further to control the digitally-controlled paint head to apply material to a surface of the dental article according to visual information including color from natural dentition of the dental patient;
a mounting device operable in combination with the digitally-controlled paint head to move the dental article in three translational degrees of freedom and two rotational degrees of freedom relative to the digitally-controlled paint head; and
a tool adapted to deform and cure the mill blank prior to machining according to the digital model.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the digitally-controlled paint head is configured to apply a plurality of layers selected to achieve a multi-chromatic appearance of natural dentition in the dental article.
20. The system of claim 18 wherein digitally-controlled paint head is configured to apply at least one layer including a material selected to correspond to opacity information in the visual information.