We have witnessed an explosion in technology that continues to increase in both the scope and the depth at which it reaches the world population. With seemingly no end to the advances, technology continues to feed new scientific research and breakthroughs. A relatively short time ago, many our readers may recall using the first generation of cell phones that were “simple” instruments too large to fit into a pocket and sporting an unwieldy telescopic external antenna. Now, we carry around a much smaller “smart” (thanks in part to quantum physics) phone capable of amazing computing power and speed far exceeding what we once had in our much larger desktop computers. Fortunately, many of these same technological advances have been adapted and merged into dental and medical applications. This past March at the IDS meeting in Cologne, Germany, our team saw many different companies introducing 3-D printers into the dental marketplace. What many practitioners and dental technicians would have once said was impossible (“printers are for paper!”) is suddenly a reality, with printers that now fabricate material objects for clinical and dental laboratory applications.
Most of our articles focus on technology this month: Drs. Tarun Arguwal, Gerard Kugel, and Scott Ganz participate in an informative roundtable discussion led by our own technology editor, Dr. Paul Feuerstein; Dr. Sabiha Bunek talks about new in-office technologies for the GP; and other clinical case experiences, shared by a number of our esteemed clinician-authors, revolve around modern technologies such as implants, CBCT and laser technology, and newly introduced high-tech dental materials and instrumentation.
In our peer-reviewed selection (available for 2 FAGD/MAGD CEUs), Dr. Todd Schoenbaum, with Drs. Richard Stevenson and Alireza Moshaverinia, presents scientific evidence supporting the placement of single-unit cement-retained implant crowns along with tips to minimize clinical complications.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy and benefit from reading this issue of Dentistry Today!
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