Inspecting CAD/CAM ceramic dental prosthesis using X-ray micro-computed tomography

The X-ray micro-computed tomography measurement protocol proposed in this paper aims to inspect the geometrical quality of ceramic dental prostheses manufactured by dental CAD/CAM systems. This measurement protocol sits at the interface of dental CAD/CAM technology and dental CAD/CAM engineering, which will interest to the dentistry community. The main objective of this paper is to provide a turnkey solution to researchers with a medical-education background for 3D inspection of dental prostheses. The proposed protocol hinges on 3D digitisation, obtained by X-ray micro-computed tomography acquisition and image processing. Before using it in a realistic case, the protocol has been validated by inspecting a certified ceramic sphere. The measurements demonstrated errors under the level of clinical tolerance. A realistic prosthesis was then designed and machined. Our protocol revealed under-milled areas, over-milled areas, and, particularly, chipping on thinnest areas. This protocol is crucial for overcoming the inherent difficulties in exchanging information between dentistry practice and dental CAD/CAM systems development.