The Digital Age of Dentistry Has Arrived

"As you can imagine, patients will love this new technology, especially children, because it''s painless, comfortable, much faster and more accurate," said Mike Girard, who owns Quantum Technologies and Integrated Dental Services, based in Windsor, Ontario. What his two companies have done is essentially to have adapted auto industry technology to the dental field.

Steve Drouillard, once a moldmaker for a Windsor auto parts supplier, joined Quantum two years ago and now uses his CAD/CAM talents to create artificial dentition. "I saw the future of the local parts industry, and it didn't look rosy," said Drouillard.

"A lot of the concepts are the same, but when you're dealing with people's teeth, the tolerances are much tighter, so it' been a challenge and an adjustment." Girard said he's already introduced Quantum's scanning technology into the United States, and the $25,000 systems will be available to Canadian dentists soon.