Digital smile planning technique applied to prosthetic rehabilitation of dental esthetic area: a case report.

Nowadays, the objective of esthetic rehabilitation is not only to guarantee the results to the patients in terms of esthetic parameters but also the possibility to show the pre-visualization of possible results and therapy planning.

Objective: The aim of this study is to apply the 3D-DPS digital planning technique, in the prosthetic treatment of a patient, to produces digitally the mockup for the digital previewing and esthetic crown and veneer for the final prosthetic treatment.

Materials and methods: A case report participant is a young patient, a female, 26 years old, with no oral, periodontal, or systemic diseases. After a sign of an informed consent and an explication of a plan of treatment, technical intraoral and extraoral pictures and intraoral digital impressions were taken. The digital images improved from the 2D Smile Lynx Software and the scanner stereolithographic (STL) file was matched into the CAD Lynx to obtain a virtual previsualization of teeth and smile design. Then, the mockup was milled using a CAM system. Minimally invasive preparation was carried out on the enamel surface with the mockup as position guides. Finally, the esthetic CAD-CAM veneer and crown were produced digitally using the CAD Wax as a guide.

Results: The use of the digital project and the pre-operative mockup allowed a perfect initial evaluation and a better understanding of the patient's treatment plan.

Conclusions: The 3D digital planning technique is a new, predictably and minimally invasive technique. It allows diagnosis and a better communication with the patient. It helps to reduce the working time and the possible errors usually associated with the classical prosthodontic manual step.