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«Conditio sine qua non» for successful treatment is the knowledge about the patient’s anatomy. Over centuries this knowledge was based on anatomical studies only and not matching the patients’ particular details. The specific situation of a patient was not revealed until it became obvious during e.g. surgery.
The Nobel prize appraised discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in 1895 and the clinical implementation of Computed Tomography by Ambrose and Hounsfield in 1972 opened wide windows giving a view into patients individual anatomy. Today, in the times of Cone Beam Computed Tomography, three-dimensional imaging is almost routine in modern dentistry. However, the whole benefit of this technique can only be derived in a fully digital environment.