Interactive dental restorative network

A method for restoration of a patient's tooth which comprises:

• generating an electronic image of a patient's tooth or tooth preparation in a dentist's office, wherein the image includes color information representative of the patient's tooth shade;
• designing a preliminary treatment plan for addressing the dental needs of the patient;
• and
• forwarding the electronic image to a dental laboratory by direct computer link or e-mail, wherein a technician evaluates the image and suggests restorative options to the dentist and the dentist and the dental restoration laboratory simultaneously have access to the electronic image.

A method for restoration of a patient's tooth which comprises:

• generating an electronic image of a patient's tooth preparation in a dentist's office, wherein the image includes color information representative of the patient's tooth shade;
• designing a preliminary treatment plan for addressing the dental needs of the patient;
• and
• forwarding the electronic image and the preliminary treatment plan to a dental laboratory, wherein a technician evaluates the image and suggests restorative options to the dentist, including whether further preparation is required, and the dentist and the dental restoration laboratory simultaneously have access to the electronic image and the preliminary treatment plan.

An interactive dental restoration method between a dentist and a dental restoration laboratory which comprises:

• identifying a dental restoration need in a patient;
• creating a digitized image in computer readable format of at least a portion of a tooth of the patient;
• transferring the digitized image to a software program on a computer;
• creating a patient file on the computer containing the digitized image;
• designing a preliminary treatment plan for addressing the dental needs of the patient;
• enhancing the digitized image using the software program to create an enhanced image, and
• adding text information to the image;
• transmitting the preliminary treatment plan via e-mail using the software program over a communications network to a dental restoration laboratory;
• and
• directly communicating between the dentist and dental restoration laboratory over the communications network, wherein the dentist and dental restoration laboratory simultaneously have access to the enhanced digital image.

An interactive dental restoration method between a dentist and a dental restoration laboratory which comprises:

• identifying a dental restoration need in a patient,
• designing a preliminary treatment plan for addressing the dental needs of the patient;
• transmitting the preliminary treatment plan via a communications network to a dental restoration laboratory for evaluation by a technician, wherein the dentist and the dental restoration laboratory simultaneously have access to the preliminary treatment plan;
• and
• communicating a final treatment plan, including the technician's modifications to the preliminary treatment plan, if necessary, to the dentist.