3D Lab Printer is Evolving Digital Dentistry

3D printing has had a huge impact on digital dentistry. From increased efficiency and cost savings to increased production speed and improved quality, all thanks to: new software, 3D scanners, additive technologies and post-processing methods. Today we’ll describe three ways digital dentistry benefits from 3D printing.

As 3D printer technology becomes more affordable, the cost of using it is falling. Patients can have these procedures performed at prices comparable to traditional methods, and these costs will continue to decrease as 3D printer prices drop.

Advances in 3D printing technology are constantly improving. While the manual creation of implants, crowns and prosthetics required a high degree of specialization, 3D printing can quickly and easily create highly accurate models. This provides better fitting and more personalized aids that improve the comfort and effectiveness of prosthetics

But first, to give you an idea of ​​how 3D printing is used in the dental industry, we will summarize a few applications here:

Dental laboratories and surgeries use 3D printers for:

1. Orthodontic models
2. Crown and bridge models
3. Surgical guides
4. Moldable or pressable restorations
5. Clean the alignment molds
6. Brackets
7. Splints
8. Dentures

Mass Customization

Each person’s dental profile is unique, so most dental products are tailored to the patient’s anatomy. With traditional production methods, the quality of the final product is highly dependent on the skills of the technician. Achieving consistent, high-quality dental products with so many potential sources of error is incredibly difficult and expensive. With digital dentistry, the margin for error is limited and automation reduces labor, resulting in time and cost savings for laboratories and practices worldwide. Align Technologies, for example, has been mass-producing a staggering 500,000 custom-made dental aligner molds per day since 2019. This level of mass customization is made possible by a fleet of FDA-certified 3D printers and materials. Below are more examples of how 3D printing enables mass customization in the dental industry.

Homemade

While industrial 3d lab printer handle high-volume production, desktop 3D printers bring on-demand production directly to the clinic. Where industrial machines have high initial costs and maintenance requirements, desktop printers are cheaper and of course smaller.

3D printer manufacturers like Envision TEC are bringing more versatile and high-quality devices that can process FDA-certified materials in a smaller, easy-to-use package. This has changed the way many clinics operate as they can now provide dental products within a short turnaround time.

Dental clinics around the world use desktop dental 3D printers for high accuracy and speed, all while producing an extensive list of products including: dentures, prosthetics, aligners, night guards, whitening trays and sports guards. Some clinics print 100 pieces of equipment per week.

Digitalization Of Dental Solutions Equals Better Patient Experience

Creating 3D models and prints is a big game changer not only because of the accuracy it provides, but also because of how it improves the patient experience. Processes are generally faster as digital elements remove unnecessary steps, making patient visits faster and easier. Digitization has also enabled better cataloging and patient-specific care. These enable the printing of better guides and dental aids with data that can be easily transferred from one dental office to another if necessary.