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This paper details the development of a robotic system designed for autonomous full-crown tooth preparation in dentistry, addressing the challenges posed by the densely constrained intraoral environment. The system employs an anatomy-aware toolpath planning algorithm and a clearance-oriented end-effector yaw assignment strategy, which together ensure precise milling while safeguarding adjacent structures. Validation through simulations and phantom-head experiments demonstrates an impressive average geometric deviation of just 0.117 mm, highlighting both the restoration quality and clinical safety of the approach.
Achieving an average geometric deviation of only 0.117 mm, this robotic system sets a new standard for precision in dental restorations.
Tooth preparation refers to the controlled removal of tooth structure to create an optimal substrate for fixed restorations and is a core procedure in restorative dentistry. Automating this task is particularly challenging for robots because the dental bur must operate within a densely constrained intraoral workspace, where even sub-millimeter deviations can compromise outcomes or damage adjacent structures. This paper presents a novel robotic system for autonomous full-crown tooth preparation. The proposed framework includes: 1) an anatomy-aware toolpath planning algorithm that conforms precisely to a technician-designed preparation model while protecting adjacent teeth, and 2) a clearance-oriented end-effector yaw assignment strategy that allows intraoral access while reducing the risk of soft-tissue interference. Together, these features enable the robot to accurately mill the irregular tooth surface with an average geometric deviation of 0.117 mm (RMSE), achieving both restoration quality and clinical safety. A series of simulations and phantom-head experiments validate the system's feasibility and effectiveness.
