April 10, 2004

By: Anita Gittens
Website: http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com

Dentistry by Design – Aerospace Technologies May Make Dentistry More Effective And Efficient

The marriage of dentistry and aerospace engineering will soon yield new virtual mouth technology to help orthodontists and dentists accurately calibrate movement of teeth, and help precisely design and speed manufacturing of restorations and replacement teeth.

Experts in aerospace engineering at the Georgia Tech Research Institute collaborated with dentist Dr. Randy Muecke of Atlanta and orthodontist Dr. David Leever of Tampa, Fla., to enhance the practitioners' patented DentAART Inc. technology.

Dentists have long needed an exact anatomic capture of their patients' tooth position and form. DentAART precisely captures that anatomic relationship and creates a unique prescription for use in planning and delivery of facial procedures - restorative, orthodontic or surgical.

Muecke and Leever brought DentAART to GTRI researchers to confirm Leever's mathematical proof of the technology. Then they contracted with GTRI to develop a digital version of DentAART, including individualized patient functional movement. Jeffrey J. Sitterle, GTRI's chief scientist and an expert in sensing systems and computer simulation, led the research and development efforts.

Author Notes:

Anita Gittens contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.teeth-whitening-smiles.com.  Everything you need to know to get a whiter, brighter smile!