Before the shift
Impressions in trays, wax mock-ups made by hand, and a laboratory working from written descriptions. Good results were possible, but they depended on interpretation at every step.
The shift
A single digital file now runs from the first scan to the final restoration. The design is shown to the patient, tested in the mouth, sent to the laboratory unchanged, and milled to it. Interpretation is replaced by verification.
Why it mattered
Predictability is what allows a consultant to promise a result and keep the promise. Digital dentistry did not make the clinic faster first; it made it accountable first, and faster as a consequence.
