3D printing and mass customization: a revolution in the dental industry

Dental 3D printing is the key of modern dentistry, as it is really helpful for dental labs. Digital dentistry is wide-spreading quite fast in the industry for many reasons. Like we said, it is an easy way to get customized items. Moreover, it is a cost-effective and time-saving method. For example, if your 3D printed device doesn’t fit, you just have to modify your 3D design. You don’t have to redo the whole process as you would have with injection molding!
Additive manufacturing is the perfect solution to get customized items, for all sectors. But it becomes even more relevant when it comes to the medical sector, as it allows great realizations such as prosthesis.
In the healthcare field, some solutions have to be adapted to the patients. Typically, prosthesis or implants have to match with the patient’s morphology. And it is also particularly true for dentistry, because everybody has his own dentition, all patients’ mouths are different. It is now possible to get an accurate 3D model of the patient’s dentition, that will lead to 3D dental restoration, with solutions totally adapted to the patient.
How can the 3D printing technology help dental professionals?
Benefits of 3D printing are numerous and this method can definitely help any medical professional to produce adapted medical devices.
There is obviously a growing use of 3D printing in the medical industry. Indeed, it can be used to create tools, prosthesis, dental implants, and so on. Soon, it will even be used for bioprinting, in order to 3D print tissue-like structures. But in this blogpost, we are going to focus on the evolution of 3D printing in the dental sector. Indeed, the impact of 3D printing in the dental industry is quite important and this sector is actually making the most of the additive manufacturing technology.
3D printed braces with LED lights
Researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology in Saudi Arabia are developing “smart 3D printed braces”. The aim of these braces is to align and straighten the teeth faster, thanks to LED lights. These semi-translucent 3D printed braces put a battery on each tooth, in order to power the light, because the energy actually helps the teeth to move faster. In case you’re wondering, no, the light can’t be seen by the naked eye, it is a discrete process. The team researchers worked on non-toxic lithium batteries, but also the flexible properties of these braces to make it safe and comfortable.
It’s now possible for professionals of the dental sector to do some oral scanning and CAD design by themselves. Then, they can 3D print with their own desktop 3D printer or with an online 3D printing service. Dental businesses are progressing, and new technologies such as 3D printers and 3D scanners dedicated to dental work are developed.
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