The reality of dental CAD-CAM: hype or hope?

Dental CAD-CAM has become a clinical reality. It holds great promise to help provide a higher level of service to the patient, while allowing the dentist to spend more time on patient needs than on the mechanics of restoration production. Still, this technology is not suited for every dental office. This paper discusses the technique of CAD-CAM, its potential and its limitations so the dentist can better evaluate the appropriateness of this new modality for his or her own office.