Rapid prototyping: A frontline digital innovation in dentistry

The power, predictability and speed that today's digital solutions offer to human oral health care have gained a rapidly growing foothold in clinical dentistry. One such revolutionary innovation is the rapid prototyping technique. This technique facilitates the fabrication of physical models from computer aided design (CAD) data using 3D printers. This technique enables the dentist and laboratory technician to produce dental-related prosthesis with a greater speed and accuracy, thus making it a reliable alternative to the much labour intensive and time consuming hands on procedure. The present article reviews this current technology, its historical development, methods and applications in dentistry.