Logic-based integrity constraints and the design of dental prostheses

This paper describes the ongoing development of a design assistant, RaPiD, for use in prosthetic dentistry. RaPiD integrates computed-aided design, knowledge-based systems and databases, employing a logic-based representation as the unifying medium. The user's manipulation of icons representing the developing design is interpreted as a set of transactions on a logic database of design components. The rules of design expertise are represented as constraints in first order predicate logic and design alterations are subject to the checking of the constraints. When design rules are contravened as the result of some proposed alteration, a suitable critique is presented to the user. RaPiD is being developed for use in both dental education and practice.