Technology and implants
Digital dentistry
Digital dentistry is dental care that uses digital tools, such as scanners, digital x-rays and computer design, in place of some manual steps.
Digital dentistry covers tools that capture, design or make things from digital data. A 2026 paper lists computer-aided design and manufacturing systems, three-dimensional printing, digital radiography, intraoral scanners and artificial intelligence as technologies that are increasingly central to clinical dentistry.
A practice may use one tool or many. An intraoral scanner can feed a design program, and a mill or printer can make the final piece. When the steps connect, the result is a digital workflow.
Buying digital tools costs money and training time. Owners often compare cost with expected return before they buy. See technology return on investment.