Delcam to show latest DentCAD dental design software at Expodental

Delcam will demonstrate the latest version of its DentCAD dental design software in Italy for the first time at the Expodental exhibition to be held in Rome from 15th to 17th October. This new version offers automated tools for the design of inlays and onlays, and for the creation of dental bars and customised abutments, in addition to the previous options for copings, crowns and bridge frameworks.

The existing functionality has been improved to give closer integration with a variety of scanners and to give faster data transfer to Delcam’s DentMILL program for dental manufacturing. DentMILL will also be featured at the Expodental show.

It is expected that many companies will want to use DentCAD alongside DentMILL. However, in keeping with the company’s "open” approach to its software, DentCAD can be used with any combination of scanner, machining software and computer-controlled machine tool.

The key benefit of DentCAD is that is extremely easy to use and so is ideally suited, not only to dental technicians that are already using CADCAM, but also to that that have no previous experience of computer-aided design and manufacture. The whole process is based on a series of intuitive "Wizards” that guide the user through the entire design process.

A wide range of visualisation tools is available at every stage, including sectioning, shading, undercut-checking and fit-verification options that allow detailed inspection of the shape being developed. This ensures that the results are exactly as required by the patient.

The system is also very flexible, so allowing different design options to be developed and compared. For example, key parameters like the margin line and the cement thickness can be varied and the computer model will automatically update to reflect the changes. In addition, sculpting tools let the user add or subtract material interactively, while the dynamic editing tools allow the complete model to be reshaped quickly and effectively.

DentCAD offers levels of speed and accuracy that are impossible to achieve with manual methods. Complete restorations can be designed within minutes of importing the scanned data. The completed design can then be supplied to DentMILL or another machining program for the manufacture of the item.