ORTHO No Longer Set in Stone

Each year BUSDM produces roughly 300 stone study casts, each destined for the same fate: storage. Although casts themselves are small, storing them is a big issue–especially because BUSDM archives all casts indefinitely.

Eliminating the need for such extensive storage is one of the many benefits of digital study casts, according to Dr. Donald Ferguson, professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics and director of the Advanced Orthodontic Training Program, whose department began using the technology in July 2005. Conventional study casts require molds to be set in stone; this new technology instead takes a digital image of tooth molds, which can be stored in a computer rather than a warehouse.

In addition, OrthoCAD, the software Ferguson uses for digital casts, offers the ability to measure casts with greater precision than measurements by hand. "It’s very versatile," says Ferguson. "It’s easier to evaluate the data in digital format than it is holding it in your hands."

Students, he adds, are enthusiastic about the change. Sending molds out for digital imaging means students have less lab work (Ferguson says after students make a certain number of casts the educational value of repeating the process drops). It also decongests the laboratory.

Ferguson estimates that, of the 50 or so orthodontics training programs in the United States and Canada, only about six are using OrthoCAD. He thinks the technology will expand with time, but is happy that BUSDM numbers among the select few. "We try to stay ahead of the curve in that regard," he says.

Although digital and stone casts cost roughly the same amount, BUSDM will continue using both methods for the foreseeable future.