FAQ
What is digital case planning?
A straight answer first, then the context behind it, from the technicians who do the work.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Digital case planning is a pre-fabrication workflow where the dentist and dental laboratory co-design a prosthetic outcome using 3D imaging, intraoral scan data, and CAD software before any physical work begins. It replaces guesswork with a virtual rehearsal of the final restoration, reducing chair-side adjustments and remakes by aligning clinical intent and lab fabrication from the first conversation.
THE CONTEXT
What sits behind it
For prosthodontists and oral surgeons managing full-arch implant cases, digital case planning typically starts with CBCT data merged with an intraoral or photographic scan. The lab uses this merged dataset to design the prosthetic contours, verify bone-to-occlusal clearance, and confirm emergence profiles before the surgical guide or final restoration is milled. That pre-surgical alignment is what keeps a complex All-on-X case on a predictable timeline instead of stretching into month eight.
For restorative general dentists, the workflow is lighter but the logic is the same. A scanned prep sent digitally allows the technician to check margin placement, verify occlusal space, and flag any issue before fabrication starts. Catching a margin discrepancy in CAD takes minutes. Catching it in fired ceramic costs a remake and a rescheduled appointment. Dani Dental's technicians review every incoming digital case file before it enters the milling queue, with a direct response to the referring doctor within the same business day.
The phrase also covers smile design previsualization: overlaying a proposed tooth form onto a facial photograph or digital wax-up so the clinician and patient can confirm esthetic direction prior to any irreversible prep work. In that context, digital case planning is less a production step and more a shared decision tool, reducing the revision cycles that slow anterior cosmetic cases.
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