Digital Dentistry and Technology at the practice in Essen-Rüttenscheid

The practice uses Primescan AC for digital impressions.

An intraoral scanner optically records visible tooth and oral surfaces and creates a three-dimensional digital dataset. Depending on the treatment, this dataset can then be used for restorative planning, dental restorations or other digital workflows.

The current German S2k guideline on intraoral scanning describes such digital surface data as a basis for various dental workflows.

This does not mean, however, that an intraoral scan is automatically the better or only possible form of impression for every treatment.

Relevant factors include:

• the clinical question,
• the size and type of restoration,
• the areas that can be accessed,
• and the planned subsequent workflow.

More about CEREC and digital restorations

After digital capture, suitable restorations can be computer-designed and machine-manufactured.

For these CAD/CAM processes, The practice has systems including:

• MC XL as a 4-axis manufacturing/milling unit,
• MC X5 as a 5-axis manufacturing unit,
• inLab 22 for digital design and manufacturing processes.

Which unit is used depends on the planned restoration, material and specific workflow.

For patients, the number of axes is less important than whether the intended restoration is suitable for a digital manufacturing pathway.

In suitable cases, yes.

The practice can manufacture certain inlays, onlays, veneers and selected crowns digitally in the practice.

Certain feldspathic and lithium-disilicate crowns can be processed with MC XL within the existing workflow. Zirconia restorations can also be produced using the digital manufacturing and furnace workflow.

The available technology allows short manufacturing processes for suitable materials.

This does not create a fixed treatment-time promise for every patient. Preparation, scanning, design, material, finishing, clinical checks and bonding remain separate steps.

Certain zirconia restorations require thermal processing after machining.

The practice has SpeedFire for this purpose.

The furnace forms part of the digital zirconia workflow and is used for the corresponding thermal processing of the material.

Again, the fact that a restoration can technically be processed quickly does not mean that every complete dental treatment is finished within a defined period.

Ivoclar ceramic furnaces are also available for larger restorations.

Primeprint is a dental 3D-printing workflow.

Unlike milling or grinding, where material is removed from a block or disc, a 3D-printed object is built layer by layer from an approved printing material.

At the practice, Primeprint expands the practice's digital manufacturing options.

One specific application is production of selected surgical guides for guided implant procedures in suitable cases.

3D printing does not automatically replace milled ceramic restorations. The appropriate manufacturing method depends on the particular application and material intended for it.

The practice has a Dentsply Sirona Orthophos 2D/3D system.

This provides both two-dimensional and — when required — three-dimensional X-ray information.

In dentistry, three-dimensional imaging of this kind is known as cone beam computed tomography (CBCT; German: DVT).

The key point, however, is not that a CBCT device is available.

The key point is whether the additional three-dimensional information is medically justified for the specific diagnostic or therapeutic question.

No.

CBCT involves ionising radiation.

Under the German Radiation Protection Ordinance, such an examination requires a justifying indication. In simplified terms, the expected medical benefit in the specific situation must outweigh the radiation risk.

CBCT is therefore not used at the practice as a routine “high-tech scan” for every patient.

It may become relevant, for example, when a question cannot be answered adequately using standard clinical and two-dimensional information.

Depending on the situation, this may apply in parts of implantology or selected complex endodontic questions.

The previous specific German CBCT guideline has been under revision since early 2026. It is therefore not presented here as a currently valid guideline; the statutory requirement for a justifying indication remains fundamental to the radiation-protection decision.

When three-dimensional information is medically required for implant planning, the data can be processed digitally.

The practice uses, among other systems:

• SICAT Suite,
• ICX-MAGELLAN X 5.4.

Such planning systems can combine X-ray data with other digital information for virtual implant planning.

For example, proposed implant positions can be assessed in relation to anatomical structures and the subsequent prosthetic restoration.

The software does not independently make the medical decision as to whether or where an implant should be placed.

More about dental implants

In guided implant placement, a previously digitally planned implant position is transferred to the surgical procedure with the help of a patient-specific surgical guide.

In suitable cases, The practice can 3D-print such surgical guides at the practice.

The guide acts as a technical aid to support the planned guidance of surgical instruments.

Guided surgery is not an automatic standard for every implant procedure and does not guarantee a particular treatment outcome.

Whether a guided workflow is appropriate depends on the specific anatomical and prosthetic situation.

The practice routinely uses magnifying loupes during root canal treatment.

Magnification and additional illumination can help make small anatomical structures within the working field easier to see.

For particularly difficult, severely curved or calcified canal systems, a surgical microscope may additionally be used as a privately billed supplementary service.

A microscope does not automatically make a complex tooth treatable and replaces neither diagnosis nor endodontic experience.

It is an optical aid for selected situations.

Morita DentaPort Root ZX is available for selected endodontic treatments.

The system is used for electronic determination or localisation of the apical region of a root canal and thereby supports working-length determination.

Correct working length is an important part of root canal treatment.

Electronic measurement and X-ray diagnostics serve different purposes and are combined according to the treatment situation.

Root ZX does not replace the other steps involved in root canal preparation and disinfection.

During root canal treatment, mechanical preparation and chemical irrigation need to work together.

The practice can use the Dentsply Sirona SmartLite Pro EndoActivator in suitable cases.

The device is intended to activate irrigating fluid within the root canal system.

This provides technical support for irrigation.

The EndoActivator does not, however, replace basic mechanical preparation, selection of suitable irrigants or the overall endodontic treatment concept.

More about root canal treatment

Laser may be used at the practice as a privately billed adjunct in selected endodontic situations.

The specific benefit depends on the indication and the procedure used.

Laser is therefore not presented as a standard part of every root canal treatment or as a guarantee of better healing.

The fundamental principles of endodontic treatment remain decisive even when laser is used.

HELBO photodynamic therapy and Waterlase iPlus are available at the practice as adjunctive technologies for selected situations.

HELBO is a system for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy.

For correct interpretation, it is important to understand what this technology does not mean:

It does not replace systematic periodontitis treatment.

The basis of periodontal therapy remains a structured approach involving diagnostics, biofilm and risk control, subgingival instrumentation, re-evaluation and long-term supportive care.

HELBO and laser procedures are used at the practice only as adjuncts following clinical selection.

Claims such as “laser removes all bacteria” or “photodynamic therapy cures periodontitis” would not be appropriate.

More about periodontitis

The practice uses the EMS AIRFLOW Prophylaxis Master for professional teeth cleaning.

The system can be used for professional removal of biofilm and certain superficial deposits.

Which instruments are actually required during a PZR depends on the individual oral situation.

AIRFLOW therefore replaces neither the dental examination nor automatically every other cleaning step.

More about professional teeth cleaning

Not necessarily.

Digital workflows can connect certain work steps directly and, in suitable cases, allow manufacturing at the practice.

Whether this actually reduces the number of appointments depends on the restoration.

At the practice, for example, certain inlays, onlays or veneers can be manufactured in a single appointment in suitable cases.

Other restorations — such as implant crowns or bridges — are handled over two appointments with an intraoral scan in the confirmed practice workflow.

“Digital” therefore does not automatically mean “everything immediately”.

That statement would also be too broad.

Current guidelines show that intraoral scans can provide a suitable digital data basis for numerous dental applications.

The quality of a treatment result does not depend on the scanner alone.

Relevant factors include:

• the correct indication,
• scanning and preparation conditions,
• clinical experience,
• material selection,
• design,
• manufacturing,
• and final clinical checks.

Technology can improve or simplify a workflow, but it is not an independent promise of quality.

Device names are useful only when they help explain to patients how a particular treatment step may be implemented technically.

This page therefore names only systems whose use at the practice has been confirmed and which have a clear purpose.

A long list of brands without clinical context would not be useful.

For patients, the final question should not be:

“Which device is the most modern?”

but:

“Which diagnostics or treatment do I need — and which technology appropriately supports that step?”

The practice has various digital and technical systems available:

• Primescan AC for digital intraoral scanning,
• MC XL, MC X5 and inLab 22 for CAD/CAM workflows,
• SpeedFire for selected ceramic processing steps,
• Primeprint for dental 3D printing,
• Orthophos 2D/3D for indication-based X-ray diagnostics,
• SICAT Suite and ICX-MAGELLAN X 5.4 for selected digital implant planning,
• magnifying loupes, surgical microscope, Root ZX and EndoActivator as endodontic aids,
• HELBO and Waterlase iPlus as selected adjunctive technologies in periodontology,
• EMS AIRFLOW Prophylaxis Master in professional teeth cleaning.

The shared principle is:

Technology is used when it serves a meaningful purpose for the specific diagnostic or therapeutic task.

CBCT is not routine, guided surgery is not necessary for every implant case, additional endodontic devices do not replace root canal treatment, and photodynamic or laser-based procedures do not replace systematic periodontitis therapy.

Further information:

Our practice CEREC and CAD/CAM Dental implants Root canal treatment Periodontitis Professional teeth cleaning

Information about the devices and digital workflows used at the practice comes from the verified clinic facts for the practice.

The medical assessment also considered the current S2k guideline “Intraoral scanning in dentistry” (2026), German radiation-protection law regarding the justifying indication for X-ray applications, and professional guidelines on endodontics and periodontology.

Manufacturer sources were used only to describe the technical function of individual systems correctly — for example the role of an intraoral scanner, apex locator, EndoActivator, 3D-printing system or implant-planning software. Manufacturer claims about superiority, success rates or patient outcomes were not adopted.

Editorial review date: 10 August 2026. Which technology is used in a specific treatment depends on the findings, indication and planned treatment pathway.