Artificial Intelligence Takes Manufacturing of Dental Crowns to Next Level

A new method of manufacturing dental crowns using generative artificial intelligence (AI) was developed by researchers from the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). The results of using this innovative technology have been published in the journal Dental Materials. They developed this generative AI algorithm using a true three-dimensional (3D) deep learning approach for producing personalized dental crowns. These crowns had high accuracy that mimic the morphology and match the materials required for the biomechanics of natural teeth.

Biomechanical finite element analysis revealed that by using lithium silicate, the AI-designed crown can come very close to achieving the expected lifespan of natural teeth. In contrast, the two existing methods of designing dental crowns result in crowns that are either too large or too thin and fall short of matching the same lifespan as natural teeth.

Currently, the Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) digital workflow has significantly improved dentistry but still has its challenges. From the design to the manufacture of dental prostheses, the process is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and generates health and environmental hazards during the 3D printing and milling processes.

The software uses a ‘tooth library’ that contains predefined crown templates to assist in generating prosthetic designs but further adjustments are still needed by the operator to meet individual conditions.

New Breakthrough Marks an Important Step Towards Leveraging the Dental Industry

Researchers used a 3D-DCGAN (3D-Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network) approach to ‘teach’ the AI algorithm ‘good’ designs by feeding the algorithm with over 600 cases of natural and healthy dentition. The algorithm improves the quality of the design through internal competition between a generator and a discriminator.

During the training process, natural teeth morphological features were learned by the algorithm, so that it can design dental crowns comparable to a natural tooth — both morphologically and functionally.

The 3D-DCGAN AI-designed crowns were compared with natural teeth and with two other conventional CAD methods of crown design methods. The results revealed that the generative AI-designed crowns had the lowest 3D discrepancy, closest cusp angle (morphological feature), and similar occlusal contacts (functional feature) as compared to natural teeth.

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This demonstrates that 3D-DCGAN could be utilized to design personalized dental crowns with high accuracy that can not only mimic both the morphology and biomechanics of natural teeth, but also operate without any additional human fine-tuning, thus saving additional costs in the production process.

Many AI approaches design a ‘look alike’ product, but they believe this is the first project that functionalizes data-driven AI into real dental applications. Researchers hope this smart manufacturing technology will be the stepping-stone for driving the Industry in dentistry, which is vital to meet the challenges of an aging society and lack of dental personnel in Hong Kong.

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Clinical trials for using this generative AI for dental crowns are underway. The research team is also working on the applicability of this tool in other dental prostheses such as bridges and dentures.



Source-Eurekalert