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Dental equipment designed for use in working dental materials into desired prostheses by performing mechanical operations such as drilling and cutting. These machines usually consist of table-top or stand-alone equipment that includes a rotating assembly (also known as spindle) that includes a shaft, bearings and associated detachable drilling devices (e.g., drill bits, burs), and a support (e.g., a vise clamped to a table) for the piece that is being conformed. Unlike a conventional drilling machine which holds the piece under work stationary as the drill moves axially to penetrate the material, milling machines also move the piece under work radially and/or laterally against the rotating spindle. Both the piece and spindle movements are precisely controlled (e.g., to less than 25 microns). Dental milling machines may be manually operated, mechanically automated, or digitally controlled (e.g., using computer-aided design/manufacturing [CAD/CAM]) methods. Dental milling/drilling machines may be used to manufacture prostheses from a variety of materials (e.g., ceramic, plastic) and for many applications (e.g., partial prostheses, dentures); dedicated machines intended to manufacture dental prostheses using computer-aided systems are also available.
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