Adaptive digital workflow for virtual patient modeling: Integrating static registration and six-degree-of-freedom jaw tracking.
Authors
Affiliations (3)
Affiliations (3)
- Private practice, Toyama, Japan; Department of Operative Dentistry, Tokyo Dental College,. Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Department of Sports Dentistry, Meikai University School of Dentistry. Sakado, Saitama, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Touro College of Dental Medicine, Hawthorne, NY; Touro College of Dental Medicine at New York Medical College, New York, NY. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract
Conventional prosthodontic workflows often separate static articulators from functional mandibular analyses, thereby limiting individualized treatment planning. This paper proposes an adaptive digital workflow for virtual patient modeling that integrates static anatomical registration with functional mandibular motion assessment. Multimodal inputs (facial scanning, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), intraoral scanning, and jaw motion tracker) were combined within a unified maxilla-referenced coordinate system, AI-assisted landmark detection was used to standardize the reference planes, and the reproducibility of mandibular movements was evaluated to determine the appropriateness of dynamic integration. Cases exhibiting stable and repeatable mandibular movements were suitable for dynamic virtual patient modeling, whereas those showing functional variability were redirected to static virtual articulator mounting using established anatomical reference points. This adaptive workflow provides a clinically practical framework for integrating static and dynamic data into virtual patient modeling, while accounting for individual functional variability. The proposed adaptive workflow enhances prosthodontic precision by standardizing anatomical reference planes through artificial intelligence-assisted landmark detection and integrating patient-specific six-degrees-of-freedom mandibular kinematics for individualized treatment planning. This workflow enables four-dimensional visualization of dynamic occlusal relationships and evaluation-based pathway selection, potentially improving functional outcomes and reducing postdelivery adjustments.