[Initial establishment of digital reference standardized crown models of the primary teeth].

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore the construction process of the digital reference crown models, and to initially establish the digital reference crown models of the primary teeth to lay the foundation for the establishment of the standardized crown models and the future related applications of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) technology to pediatric dentistry. METHODS: This study randomly selected children who were caries free, aged from 4 to 5 years in several kindergartens of Haidian District of Beijing.Plaster dental models were made for the children after taking complete impressions.The digital dental models were reconstructed by using the three-dimensional (3D) dental model scanner.And then, Geomagic Studio, a 3D reverse engineering software, was employed to extract the single dental crown data, the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters and the height of the crowns were measured.The object was reduced or enlarged by a numerical factor, and then the size of each dental crown was standardized.A total of 3-5 points features on the crown were created, and all the objects were aligned through the functions of feature-based alignment.Finally, through average-based object creation and smoothing, the digital models of reference crowns of the primary teeth were established. RESULTS: A total of 40 plaster dental models from 16 boys and 26 girls were selected out for our further study.The digital dental models were reconstructed, and the mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters and the height of the crowns were measured by using reverse engineering technology.Comparing the results of using mesiodistal diameter, buccolingual diameter and height as the standards, we chose the mesiodistal diameters of crowns to do the standardization, and successfully established the digital reference models of 20 primary teeth crowns with detailed surface characteristics. CONCLUSION: In this study, the digital reference crown models of the primary teeth were established by reverse engineering technology, providing reference value for the standardized crown models and application for clinical practice, scientific research and teaching.Furthermore, this study also contributes to the extensive application of CAD/CAM technology in pediatric dentistry and the development of CAD/CAM dental systems with independent intellectual property rights.