Dental crown and bridge treatment may be faster and cheaper with new technology

SINGAPORE - By the end of next year, patients who need dental crown or bridge treatment may be able to get it done within a shorter time, at a lower cost and with higher accuracy.

A new 3-D technology developed by Temasek Polytechnic can be used to create a new method of manufacturing dental crowns and bridges that cuts production time from several days to just hours.

Dental crowns are replacement teeth made to match a patient's natural teeth, while bridges are fixed dentures.

Dr Sun Lingling, manager of Temasek microelectronics centre, said: "What used to take three to seven days via traditional and manpower-heavy processes can now be done in four hours."

"When patients go to a dentist for a dental crown, they can get it within the same day, rather than wait days or even weeks."

Dr Zhang Guangyu, who led the research team, said the new method also reduces manufacturing cost. For example, each crown costs $13 to $14 to make, compared to between $20 and $40 using the traditional method.

The fit of a crown will also be more accurate as the technology narrows the margin of human error, said Dr Zhang. This will reduce the amount of grinding that has to be done to the patient's teeth before fitting the crown.

During the consultation, a patient gets fitted for an impression, which the dentist turns into a form. The laboratory will scan the form using a 3D scanner and create two sets of data - one for the interior of the crown and the other for the exterior.

The data will be used to create a mould to shape the exterior of the crown, and an internal metal form which will be attached to the patient's damaged tooth.

The researchers, which started the project in January this year, are working towards using a 3D scanner to scan the patient's teeth directly.

They are also in the process of reaching out to hospitals and dental clinics, and hope to see their product distributed commercially by the end of next year.

Some dentists have welcomed the new technology, but they say quality and accuracy must not be compromised.

Caring Dental's clinical director, Dr Christopher Tan, said at his clinic, "patients request for dental crowns and bridges consultations on a daily basis".

He said they make about five to 10 units of crowns and bridges a week.

Dr Tan said while it is possible for same-day fabrications to be made, laboratories generally take a much longer time. On average, they take a week or two to deliver.

"It will be good to have (the technology) for reduction in treatment costs and timing, but it would have to be trialed in terms of quality and accuracy in fabrication of the crowns and bridges," he said.

"We must be assured of this before it can be widely used."