📖 Workflow

Medit ClinicCAD offers two workflows for designing restorations based on the available data: the Prepared Data module and the Pre-Op Data module. Each workflow consists of consecutive steps that guide the user from margin line creation or data selection to the final customization of the restoration design. After running the app, the user must select one of the modules and assign at least one piece of data to the target arch.

Pre-Op Data

Prepared Data

Design eggshell-type crowns and bridges Supports design based on preoperative data ⚠️ Attrention This module will be disabled if a veneer, coping, inlay, or onlay is registered in the Medit Link form.

Design single crowns, bridges with pontics, veneers, inlays, onlays, and copings Supports design based on prepared data with the use of teeth libraries Supports "Auto Creation" mode for single crowns (premolars and molars only) Supports workflow for designing cervical inlay* Users can import preoperative data for reference via the Assign Data window ℹ️ Note * For more information on how to design cervical inlays, refer to the Appendix of this guide.

 

After assigning the scan data, the user enters the first step of the workflow. Regardless of the selected module, this step includes two data management tools in the bottom left corner: Data Alignment and Data Editing. Although optional, these tools allow users to review and refine the imported scan data, ensuring greater accuracy and better results when designing the restoration in the subsequent steps.

 

 

Proper data alignment with the occlusal plane is crucial to ensure the accuracy of subsequent automated processes. In most cases, the scan data is automatically aligned upon import. However, if the alignment fails for any reason, the user will be prompted to complete the alignment manually.

1. To realign data manually, start by clicking "Detach Data" in the toolbox at the bottom.

 

2. Then, using either "Align by 3 Points" or "Align by 4 Points," set the corresponding number of points on the data.

• If you set the point incorrectly, use "Delete Point" to remove the last added point.
  
• If working with half arch data, use the "Half Arch Alignment" feature to ensure a more accurate alignment process.
  
  
  

3. Check the data alignment in the Multi-View on the right. If needed, adjust it by right-clicking to rotate and using both mouse buttons to move.

4. When finished, click "Done" in the bottom right corner to go to return to the first workflow step.

 

 

The Data Editing feature offers tools for refining imported scan data, removing the need for preparation in other programs. Clean scan data will ensure a faster work process and more accurate design results.
Using the provided tools users can trim the excessive or unneeded data parts, modify the data surface, and fill holes if any are present.

 

How to trim data

Trimming tools are automatically activated once user enters.

1. Start by choosing a selection tool to help you designate parts of the data that need to be removed.

	Smart Teeth Selection	Automatically select all teeth of the arch, leaving out gingiva parts.
	Brush Selection	Select all entities on a freehand-drawn path on the screen. Only the front face is selected. The brush comes in three sizes.
	Smart Single Tooth Selection	Automatically select the area of a single tooth, leaving out gingiva parts. Click and drag the mouse on the tooth.
	Polyline Selection	Select all entities within a polyline shape drawn on the screen.
	Flood Fill Selection	Select the connected area based on the mouse movements.

 

2. If needed, modify the selected area using the following tool options.

	Autofill Selected Area	Automatically fill in entities of the selected area.
	Shrink Selected Area	Reduce the selected area each time you press the button.
	Expand Selected Area	Expand the selected area each time you press the button.
	Invert Selected Area	Invert the selection.

• You can also turn on “Deselection Mode” to modify selection manually or use “Clear All Selection” to automatically deselect everything.
  
  
  

3. To complete the trim, click “Delete Selected Area.”

 

How to fill holes

1. Change to the "Fill Holes" tool.

 

2. Find an area where data is missing and adjust the "Maximum Perimeter of a Hole" slider.
If the "Use Neighboring Colors for Filled Holes" option is on, the program will use the matching color palette to fill the area; otherwise, it is filled in grey.

 

3. Click "Apply" to fill the holes with the new mesh.

 

How to sculpt data

Find the area of data you want to modify, then use the provided tools to add or remove data or to smooth and morph parts of it. You can also sculpt a more anatomical occlusal surface by using the "Groove" option.
Note that the strength and size of the sculpting brush is adjustable.

When finished, click "Done" in the bottom right corner to go to return to the first workflow step.

	Add	Use the mouse to add on part of the data. Hotkey: 1
	Remove	Use the mouse to remove parts of the data. Hotkey: 2
	Smooth	Use the mouse to smooth parts of the data. Hotkey: 3
	Morph	Use the mouse to morph parts of the data. Hotkey: 4
	Groove	Remove material from the restoration with a sharp blade to create grooves. Hotkey: 5

 

 

The general workflow for creating ‘eggshell’ crowns and bridges consists of three steps: Tooth Selection > Margin & Insertion Path > Final Design. If the user chooses to use library data for crown creation instead of preoperative data for a specific tooth, an additional step—Tooth Data Arrangement*—is included in the workflow.

 

Tooth Selection

This is the first step in designing eggshell-type crowns and restorations. The goal of this step is to select preoperative data corresponding to each tooth registered in the Medit Link form and reuse it later to generate the restoration.

 

1. Upon entering this step, the data for the tooth numbers listed in the form at the bottom is automatically selected.

 

2. Review the accuracy of the automatic data selection to ensure the correct generation of the restorations' outer surfaces in the following steps. If editing is needed, select the target tooth number in the form and make adjustments using the selection tools.

• You can reset the data selection for a specific tooth using "Clear All Selection" and then accurately reselect that tooth with "Smart Single Tooth Selection." For this, click and drag the mouse over the tooth data.
  
  
• Or you can make minor corrections to the selection with “Brush Selection” or “Brush Deselection.”
  
  

 

3. If you intend to use the teeth library instead of the preoperative data for any of the target restorations, select the corresponding tooth number from the list at the bottom and enable the 'Use Library' toggle. This will add an additional step to your workflow later: Tooth Data Arrangement.

 

4. When done, click “Next” or press the space bar to move to the next step.

 

Margin & Insertion Path

The purpose of the second step is to establish the margin lines and set the insertion path for future restorations.

 

1. The margin lines will be created automatically upon entering this step. You must review the generated margin lines and edit them if needed.

• To edit the margin lines, use the “Shrink/Expand” slider at the bottom. You can shrink or expand the margin for all teeth at once or for a specific tooth number by specifying it in the form at the bottom.

• You can also edit the margin line by adding, moving, or deleting the control points. Click to add a point, right-click it to delete, and drag it to move.
  

 

2. The insertion path will be automatically detected. Review the detected insertion path, and if adjustments are needed, drag the insertion path arrow to modify its direction. The gray arrow will show the originally detected direction.

• Alternatively, you can rotate the 3D data and click “Set Arrow to Your Viewpoint” at the bottom.
  
  

 

3. In this step, you can also review the parameters for the restoration’s inner and outer surfaces before they are applied in the next step. By default, your most recently used parameters will be applied. Click “Parameter Settings” in the Side Toolbar to see the details.

• You can manually configure the parameter values or use the recommended preset for your particular printer.
  

  ℹ️ Note

  Read more on receiving recommended presets and managing the preset list in the Data Management > Presets Management chapter of this guide.

   

4. When done, click “Next.”

 

Final Design

This is the final step in designing the restorations. In this step, the user should review the design of the created restorations, make any necessary edits, and check the applied parameters before proceeding with printing. There are also two additional tasks that can be performed in this step: editing the bridge connectors and adding optional design elements to a crown.

 

1. Start by reviewing the created restorations. Turn on the analysis tools in the Side Toolbar to see where sculpting of the outer surfaces might be needed. ”Contact Areas with Adjacents” and “Contact Areas with Antagonists” will show the contact points with neighboring teeth through colors. ”Minimum Thickness” will point out areas of the crowns that are too thin in red. Add more material in these areas using sculpting tools.

 

1. Start by reviewing the created restorations. Turn on the analysis tools in the Side Toolbar to see where sculpting of the outer surfaces might be needed.

”Contact Areas with Adjacents” and “Contact Areas with Antagonists” will show the contact points with neighboring teeth through colors.

”Minimum Thickness” will point out areas of the crowns that are too thin in red.

Add more material in these areas using sculpting tools.

 

2. Correct any design flaws using “Sculpting.” You can add, remove, smoothen, morph, and carve out material on the restoration’s outer surface. Choose a sculpting tool, adjust the brush strength and size, and then modify the required areas. Use the “Groove” option to create grooves easily.

 

3. Any substantial sculpting might require additional review of the restoration fit and previously set parameters. Use “Adaptation” to make quick adjustments; you can adapt the restoration to adjacents and antagonists by a set distance.

• If your bridge has a pontic, you can adjust its distance to gingiva using the Adaptation Tools in this step. Choose the “Adapt to Gingiva” feature, set the desired distance, and click “Adapt.”
  
• If dynamic occlusion data was imported, you can choose whether to adapt to antagonists based on ‘static’ or ‘dynamic’ occlusion.
  

 

4. If you are working on a bridge, the data of each individual element will be combined into one by adding connectors. Edit the connectors using the “Move” or “Edit” tools.

• When using ”Move,” drag the center point of a connector to readjust the connector’s position and cross-section area automatically.

  ℹ️ Tip

  Hold down Alt/Option to quickly freeform the connector with a mouse.

  

• hen using ”Edit,” margins of the connector on both teeth will appear. You can reshape the connectors by editing those margins. Similar to editing the tooth’s margin line, click to add a point, right-click it to delete, and drag the points to move.

  ℹ️ Tip

  Hold down Ctrl/Command to quickly make minor changes in the margins.

  

   

5. If you are working on a crown design, you can add screw access holes or handles with “Screw/Handle.”

• Start by choosing what element you want to add and click “Auto Set.” This will automatically place the cylinder to create an element in the most optimal place—a handle on the lingual side and a hole in the center. Then, adjust the radius and height of the cylinder below and click “Add.”
  

  ℹ️ Tip

  The cylinder for creating an element can also be placed manually in your chosen spot with a double-click.

  

• You can also quickly move the cylinder around with a “Move” tool and change its direction by rotating the data and then setting it to your view with “Set Toward You.”
  
  

 

6. Lastly, review the inner and outer parameters in “Parameter Settings” before saving your design and sending it to printing.

 

7. To save your restoration designs, click “Complete” at the bottom right corner.

 

8. If you have a SprintRay 3D printer, you can transfer your restoration design from this step right into the RayWare Cloud. For this, use the “Print with SprintRay” at the bottom and follow the guidance on the screen. You must already have a RayWare Cloud account to use this feature.

 

 

 

 

The workflow in this module depends on the target restoration. The table below shows which steps are included in the workflow for each restoration type.

	Margin & Insertion Path	Tooth Data Arrangement	Final Design
Bridge	O	O	O
Crown	O	O	O
Veneer	O	O	O
Inlay/Onlay	O	O	O
Coping	O	X	O
Cervical Inlay*	O	X	O

*The workflow for the cervical inlay is explained separately in the Appendix.

 

Auto Creation for Single Crowns

This module also supports the automatic creation of single crowns for premolars and molars based on preset parameters. To use this feature, the form in Medit Link must contain only single crowns. In the Assign Data window, activate the “Auto Creation” toggle and review the preset parameters in the settings.
After the data assignment, users will enter the Final Design step, where they can review and customize the generated crowns.

 

Margin & Insertion Path

In the first step, users must draw margin lines for all teeth numbers entered in the form and then set the insertion path for each restoration.

 

1. Start by checking the teeth form at the bottom. If a tooth number has a green check mark, the margin line for this tooth has already been created or was imported from the case.
Margin lines for copings, crowns, inlays, and onlays are created automatically.

 

2. Then, select a tooth number that doesn't have a margin yet and draw it using the "Auto Creation" or "Manual Creation" tool.
"Auto Creation" draws a margin based on a single user-defined point; "Manual Creation" draws a margin based on multiple points.

• Turn on “Section View” or “Dynamic View Change” to assist you when drawing the margin manually.
  
  

 

3. All margins can be edited by adding, moving, or deleting the control points. Click to add a point, right-click it to delete, and drag it to move.
While editing, you can turn on "Curvature Display Mode" to better understand the depth.

 

4. You can work on the insertion path only after margins for all target teeth have been created.

Turn on “Show Insertion Path” and adjust the automatically set path by dragging the insertion path arrow. The grey arrow will indicate the original direction.

• Alternatively, you can rotate the 3D data and click “Set Arrow to Your Viewpoint” at the bottom.
  
  

 

5. When done, click “Next” or press the space bar to move to the next step.

 

Tooth Data Arrangement

In this step, the user must arrange the tooth data to create restorations. They can use either tooth library data or any available preoperative or reference scan data.

 

1. When you enter this step, tooth data from the selected library will be automatically assigned to all the target teeth specified in the form. There are 6 default tooth libraries, and you can choose which one to use in the Library toolbox on the right.

 

2. Alternatively, you can duplicate other available data to use it instead of the library one. For duplication, you can use either the pre-op data imported via the Assign Data dialog in the beginning or any other reference scans you load via "Import Additional Data" in the Side Toolbar. The latter lets you import additional data from other Medit Link cases or any locally stored data. To duplicate the data, use the "Copy/Mirror" tool. ”Copy” creates an exact replica of a scanned tooth, while “Mirror” creates a symmetrical one. Note that the copied or mirrored data will be applied only to the single tooth currently selected in the form at the bottom, allowing you to retain the library data for other teeth.

• Start by selecting a tooth number for which you want to use the duplicated data in the form at the bottom and finding the data you will be duplicating (use the Data Tree to make it visible).
  
• Then, choose "Copy" or "Mirror" in the floating widget and select the desired tooth data using the provided tools.
  
  ℹ️ Tip

  When copying data, note that the "Keep Size & Location" toggle allows you to create a duplicate of the same size and location as the original. If not turned on, the copied data will be placed onto the designated target tooth.

  

• Click "Apply" to substitute the library data with designated data. If you want, you can return to using the library data by clicking "Reset."
  

 

3. When you have arranged the tooth data for all your target teeth, adjust the data's placement using the "Positioning" tools. You can move, scale, or rotate the tooth data to ensure it is positioned properly.

• Use "Free Move/Scale" if you want to control data movements with no restrictions. To move data, use the mouse. For other actions like rotating and scaling, check the keyboard shortcuts under the question mark in the toolbox.
  
• Use "3D Manipulator" if you want to make precise or small adjustments to the data positioning. This feature lets you control data along the axis.
  

 

4. You should consider the contact points with other teeth when positioning the tooth data. To evaluate the contact between the restoration and its opposing or adjacent teeth, refer to the color bar in the bottom left corner.

 

5. In this step, you can also review the parameters for the restoration's inner and outer surfaces before they are applied. To do this, click the "Parameter Settings" feature in the Side Toolbar on the right. You can use the recommended presets for your specific printer or manually adjust each parameter. By default, the most recently used parameters will be set up for you. 

 

6. When done, click "Next."

 

Final Design

This is the final step in designing the restorations. In this step, the user should review the design of the created restorations, make any necessary edits, and check the applied parameters before proceeding with printing. There are also two additional tasks that can be performed in this step: editing the bridge connectors and adding optional design elements to a crown.

 

1. Start by reviewing the created restorations. Turn on the analysis tools in the Side Toolbar to see where sculpting of the outer surfaces might be needed. ”Contact Areas with Adjacents” and “Contact Areas with Antagonists” will show the contact points with neighboring teeth through colors. ”Minimum Thickness” will point out areas of the crowns that are too thin in red. Add more material in these areas using sculpting tools.

 

2. Correct any design flaws using “Sculpting.” You can add, remove, smoothen, morph, and carve out material on the restoration’s outer surface. Choose a sculpting tool, adjust the brush strength and size, and then modify the required areas. Use the “Groove” option to create grooves easily.

 

3. Any substantial sculpting might require additional review of the restoration fit and previously set parameters. Use “Adaptation” to make quick adjustments; you can adapt the restoration to adjacents and antagonists by a set distance.

• If your bridge has a pontic, you can adjust its distance to gingiva using the Adaptation Tools in this step. Choose the “Adapt to Gingiva” feature, set the desired distance, and click “Adapt.”
  

• If dynamic occlusion data was imported, you can choose whether to adapt to antagonists based on ‘static’ or ‘dynamic’ occlusion.
  
  

 

4. If you are working on a bridge, the data of each individual element will be combined into one by adding connectors. Edit the connectors using the “Move” or “Edit” tools.

• When using ”Move,” drag the center point of a connector to readjust the connector’s position and cross-section area automatically.
  
  ℹ️ Tip

  Hold down Alt/Option to quickly freeform the connector with a mouse.

  

• When using ”Edit,” margins of the connector on both teeth will appear. You can reshape the connectors by editing those margins. Similar to editing the tooth’s margin line, click to add a point, right-click it to delete, and drag the points to move.
  

  ℹ️ Tip

  Hold down Ctrl/Comment to quickly make minor changes in the margins.

  

   

5. If you are working on a crown design, you can add screw access holes or handles with “Screw/Handle.”

• Start by choosing what element you want to add and click “Auto Set.” This will automatically place the cylinder to create an element in the most optimal place—a handle on the lingual side and a hole in the center. Then, adjust the radius and height of the cylinder below and click “Add.”
  ℹ️ Tip

  The cylinder for creating an element can also be placed manually in your chosen spot with a double-click.

  

• You can also quickly move the cylinder around with a “Move” tool and change its direction by rotating the data and then setting it to your view with “Set Toward You.”
  

 

6. Next, review the inner and outer parameters in “Parameter Settings” before saving your design. Both inner and outer parameters can be adjusted in the corresponding tabs.

 

7. Before saving or printing, make sure to review your created restorations. If you need to correct the inner surface but want to preserve the work on the outer surface, use the 'Margin & Insertion Path' in the Design Review toolbox instead of going back. This feature will take you back to the margin line creation step while keeping the outer surface design intact even after making changes.

 

8. When all design work is finished, you can either save your designs to the Medit Link case via “Complete“ or proceed to printing using SprintRay printer via “Print with SprintRay.“