(TNS) — Dentistry at the University of Michigan has just gone digital.
UM School of Dentistry students and faculty members can now access the university’s new Digital Dentistry Center in Ann Arbor. The equipment includes machines that perform intra-oral scans and produce polished dentures and dental guards.
“It used to take several hours to mill these teeth, now it takes five minutes,” Dr. Carlos Gonzalez, associate dean for academic affairs at the UM School of Dentistry, said. “If you do it with one of the faculty, they can do it within 15 minutes.”
The opening comes as the school celebrates its 150th anniversary. The dental school started as a single home with 20 students and has turned into one of the world’s top schools for dentistry, according to the 2025 QS World University Rankings list of dental schools.
Raymond Aldrich, director of marketing and communications at the UM School of Dentistry, said the university’s technological advancements in dentistry provide swift, high-quality care for its patients.
“They get a chance to get the latest techniques in digital dentistry benefit from it so they can get a new crown or a new tooth made for them in days, whereas before it took months,” Aldrich said.
Administrators unveiled the new digital lab at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Oct. 10. Attendees included dental school faculty members and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor.
“Medicare should be covering dental care,” Dingell said at the ceremony.
“We need to make sure our students become important messengers of the importance of dental care and calling for better public policy for dental care.”
Dr. Jacques Nör, dean of the UM School of Dentistry, noted the positive impact the digital center will have on patients, who come from all 83 Michigan counties.
“By integrating a comprehensive digital flow in clinical care, we are not only equipping the next generation of dental professionals with advanced skills but we are also expanding access to high-quality care for our patients,” Nör said at the ceremony. “This new dental technology will also allow us to reduce the cost of these procedures to our patients.”
Dr. Dennis Fasbinder, director of the new digital center and professor of dentistry at UM, said the center also assists students and faculty in their patient treatment.
“This center is designed to leverage that technology for our students and faculty to do anything in their research, in their educational courses, patient treatment. Fasbinder said. ”What it does too is it allows the dentist to spend less time doing things and more with the patient.”
He explained most dental facilities do not offer both laboratory and clinical spaces and UM provides the chance for students to “get both sides” for their education.
Fasbinder said artificial intelligence will be “the next wave” for the dental center. It can help streamline and hasten processes for students and faculty.
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