Digital Casts, The Market Today

For those not familiar with digital casts and their use in orthodontics:

• Clinician takes a regular impression with alginate of the upper and lower arch of the patient, as well as a bite index with wax or silicone, in maximum inter-cuspidation.
• Impressions and bite index are shipped to the company and poured - scanned.
• With help of a software provided by the company, digital casts can be used for various measurements, vital for treatment planning of the orthodontic patient.
  
  
  
  

With the baseline presented, there are several options for the clinician, in the market right now, concerning the above scheme, or similar schemes. Digital casts provide a new field for the orthodontist and his office, as no space is required for the conventional plaster cast models, and the software offers tools for all everyday measurements and manipulation needed, except of course the pre-bending of appliances such as TPAs and LLAs for which an actual model would be essential.

Small survey of the options for the clinician out there, concerning digital casts and companies in Europe and the United States.

• Search tool : Google
• Keywords : Digital Study Models AND Orthodontics
• Results of about 14,700 links for "digital study models" AND Orthodontics. (0.24 seconds) 
• Process of 4 pages with individual website results
  
  
  
  

Sorted list:

USA Stationed:

Geodigm-e   http://www.dentalemodels.com/

Orthocad  http://www.orthocad.com/

EMS  http://www.esmdigitalsolutions.com/

Orthoproof http://www.orthoproofusa.com/

Europe Stationed:

Orthoproof http://www.orthoproof.com/

OR3DM models  http://www.o3dm.com/Polland/

EMS United Kingdom Branch

 Company providing the scanner, http://www.3shape.com/ situated in Denmark

A few of them in detail, with some of their features and services provided (follow the links given for more information if interested)

O3DM

• Impressions taken with waxbite and send to the company.

• Digital casts downloaded from the website

• Software available for download.

• Additional construction of various activators and casted appliances from digital casts

OrthoCad

OrthoCad iCast

• Digital casts from conventional impressions or digital scanning

OrthoCad iQ

• Bracket placement software, for manufacture of indirect bonding trays.

OrthoCad iCO

• Digital scanner for mouth usage, compatible with the above products

Geoigm-e

eModel:

• Digital Casts, and Software

ePlan:

• VTO options built in the software

ePlacement

• Manufacture of indirect bonding tray by bracket placement on the digital casts.Company suggests initial bracket position that can be fine-tuned online by the operator before manufacture.

3 Shape

• Scanner for office use, R700 3D

• Software to manipulate digital casts, with the usual functions, as well as virtual treatment planning and arch coordination.
• Scaning of alginate and silicone impressions without pouring plaster.

Orthoproof

• Typical digital study models features

• Software available for a free trial.

p.s. Several laboratories, locally offer digital cast services, those the clinician can check for his own country, and need.

Purpose of this article is informative, the order of presented companies and services has nothing to do with order of preference.