The feature-based posterior crown design in a dental CAD/CAM system

This paper presents a newly developed CAD approach for a quick and accurate design of a dental posterior prosthesis. The approach arises from the basic idea that every human tooth has its own specific features. Based upon the features of the standard posterior tooth, the initial data containing the defined feature points are firstly acquired from the scanned points of the standard tooth. The standard prosthetic profile is thereby formulated using the bicubic Nurbs surface fitting technique. This profile has the two functions of possessing the same features with the patient's missing posterior tooth, and the adjustability with the feature points and the defined B-spline profile feature curves. For the purpose of the adjustment of the established model, the global and occlusal feature curves are proposed considering the individual patient's original information. According to these curves, the corresponding standard prosthetic profile is locally adjusted to meet the fit of the global size and occlusal surface. Finally, a close and continuous profile of a posterior crown is generated. Using this design, a posterior prosthesis is successfully manufactured in the computer-aided machining process.