UNE’s Mohamed El Naga presents research on digital dental technologies
At the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Operative Dentistry, Mohamed El Naga, B.D.S., M.S., assistant clinical professor in the College of Dental Medicine, presented his research into digitally fabricated crowns, an emerging dental technology. At the meeting, held February 22-24, 2017, El Naga also provided an overview of the different types of digital tools currently available for oral health care providers.
In early summer 2016, El Naga conceptualized the project as a literature review with his summer research students. Second-year dental students Lindsey Cunningham and Lani Lim began to compare articles on conventional lab fabricated crowns and CAD/CAM digitally fabricated crowns. This review led the team to question whether lab fabricated crowns had better esthetics/tooth anatomy and morphology as compared to the CAD/CAM Digitally fabricated crowns.
Jeffrey Finegold, D.M.D, assistant clinical professor and group practice leader in the College of Dental Medicine, Julia Chernikova-Glidden, laboratory technology coordinator and dental students Christopher Pochebit (‘17), Jonathan Schneider (‘17), Arina Sorokina (‘18) and Rebecca Verosloff (‘19) then joined the research team. Together, they compared the occlusal anatomy and morphology of conventional, lab-fabricated, e.max crowns and CAD/CAM digitally fabricated e.max crowns in posterior teeth. Currently, the group is conducting a pilot study comparing lab-fabricated crowns made by PortCity Dental Lab versus CAD/CAM digitally fabricated crowns milled at the UNE Oral Health Center.
In this current phase of research, dental students and faculty members will be asked to compare the two types of crowns in a blind survey. Participants will be shown pictures of both types of crowns (lab fabricated versus digitally fabricated) on a computer screen and will be asked which crown shows a more natural appearance. Data will be recorded and analyzed using statistical tests.
To learn more about the University of New England’s College of Dental Medicine, visit www.une.edu/dentalmedicine
To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions
