Dental implants are not common in medicine because everything installed in a patient's mouth must be customized for that person. Although other areas are just beginning to get involved in patient specific solutions, dental implants have had to operate in this way for many years. Dentures or braces are not universal. Patients usually need to reuse the same braces many times when receiving different treatments.
This makes 3D printing an ideal choice for the dental industry because it can quickly and cheaply manufacture unique surgical guides, crowns and trays. There is no need to go through the long process of obtaining physical impressions and creating plaster models of patients' teeth to make models. Instead, you can use an oral scanner to obtain a 3D digital impression, and then you can create a 3D rendering of teeth and gums in a digital file. With all the right technology at hand, the device can print out immediately, and the patient doesn't even have to leave the chair.
Digital smile design (DSD) uses this process to plan and create dental treatment for patients, while chuangxiang Sandi, a pioneer in 3D printing industry, recently launched a new dental application project. Chloe Kent asked George cabanas, director of DSD, how dental clinics use 3D printing today and what it means for the future of dentistry.
Chloe Kent: George, how do you use 3D printing at DSD?
George cabanas: DSD planning center has always been a pioneer in using 3D printing technology to benefit dentists and assist dentists in planning patients' treatment. DSD began a few years ago, creating 3D printed digital models that represent the expected future state of patients' teeth after dental treatment.
These 3D printing models allow patients to "test drive" their ideal teeth in the future: the end result of the simulation is that the teeth are 3D printed and worn in the mouth to observe and feel the differences. This helps to reduce the subjectivity of communication between the patient and her dentist and ensure that the dentist, her team and the patient have a common objective treatment outcome.
Today, the DSD planning center can reduce the time that clinicians and her patients wait for their models, guidelines and equipment to be ready. A clinician with a 3D printer in the office can manufacture DSD designed products within minutes of approving the case.
CK: how will 3D printing change the dental industry?
GC: 3D printers are now affordable and can be used by all clinicians. This allows the clinician to have the DSD team assist them and the clinician can 3D print the product in their office a few minutes after approving the treatment plan. The great advantage of this is that clinicians can contact experts from all over the world, but they can still make specific devices for patients locally.
In addition, clinicians will be able to use 3D printing devices to ensure close attention to the implementation of treatment plans. Finally, 3D printers in the office show that clinicians are willing to invest in their practices and patients by using the best tools.
Sam Wainwright: 3D printing and advanced photopolymers are the final manufacturing solutions for the dental industry, and we are still in the early stages of this digital development. Better and more effective treatment methods can be found through the complete digital workflow of dental technology, and 3D printing is an important part of this process.
Chuangxiang Sandi began to enter the dental market as early as 2018. 3D printers, other competitors in this field, are too expensive for most laboratories and private clinics to introduce technology internally. Dj89 dental 3D printer of chuangxiang Sandi has completely changed the dental market by providing highly accurate and easy-to-use 3D printing that every dental enterprise can afford. Dentists can get industry-specific support from the dental expert team, access the latest materials and applications through an extensive dental material library, and verify printing settings thoroughly tested by dental experts, making 3D printing possible for every dental business.
CK: are there any precautions for this technology?
GC: today, high quality liquid resins are used for 3D printing dental instruments. Since these resins need to be approved by the local health department, some resins may not be used in all regions. This may complicate access to better resins in some parts of the world.
Although these resins are so excellent today, the aesthetic effect of ceramic teeth can not be printed. The resin has not realized the color diversity and translucency of ceramics. Therefore, ceramics will continue to be used in fixed dentures in the next few years. Today, however, we are beginning to see traditional acrylic removable dentures replaced by 3D printed dentures.
Sw: to make full use of a 3D printer in a dental environment, it must be part of a complete digital workflow that includes other hardware and software. This is very exciting because 3D printing makes digital dental workflow a reality, but it also allows only the most cutting-edge dental enterprises to adopt 3D printing technology.
CK: what is the most exciting development in this field?
GC: the development of 3D printing mainly includes two aspects: new materials and manufacturing speed. New biocompatible materials will soon begin to imitate the aesthetic effects of ceramics and innovate in transparent flexible resins with many dental applications. The rapid manufacturing speed will allow the dentist to manufacture the appliance for the patient while the patient is still in the dental treatment chair.
Sw: we are pleased to see how fast the dental industry is adopting digital technology and workflow. Prosthetics, removable prostheses and orthodontic appliances made with full digital workflow are more suitable for patients, dentists, orthodontists and dental technicians. Dj89 of chuangxiang Sandi is committed to creating a better 3D printer, which can be used by every dental enterprise regardless of scale.