Abstract
Modern crown-bridge restorations have been achieved by the introduction of casting gold alloys and the lost wax precision casting technique. When esthetic restorations are needed, porcelain and composites are used as veneering materials. These techniques are conventional manual processes in dental technology. On the other hand, application of CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) for the fabrication of crown-bridge restorations has been developed in dental schools and companies worldwide since the 1980s. With the introduction of zirconia and networked centre-driven CAD/CAM technology, dental CAD/CAM has become very popular in dentistry. Application of CAD/CAM has several merits such as the application of new materials, improvement of working circumstances, economics and quality control of restorations. We suggest that general practitioners need to understand the advantages and limits of CAD/CAM processing, adhere to clinical protocols, and collaborate with dental technicians to make dental CAD/CAM more popular in dentistry.
