New 3D Printed Teeth Comes to the World of Dental Care



You’ve likely heard a lot of buzz over the last few years about 3D printing technology, and how it is enabling the creation of things that could only be imagined in the past.

 

3D printing is becoming increasingly more common every day as advancements in the technology continue to expand its use in to a wider range of applications, including many types of healthcare.

 

3D printing has been used to create such amazing things as a portion of a new skull for a woman in the Netherlands, and a new leg bone for a man in Australia. Truly, the opportunities to improve the world of health care with this amazing technology are nearly limitless.

 

The field of dentistry has also begun realizing the benefits of 3D printing technology, and the advantages that it can bring to a wide variety of dental procedures. In this article, we’re going to take a look at how 3D printing works and examine some of the ways in which 3D printing is being used by dentists, orthodontists and oral surgeons. We will also speculate on just how far this technology may go in the future to bring incredible advancements to the world of dentistry.

 

First, let’s examine how Dental 3d printer work, and what’s needed in order to create a Dental 3d printer object.

 

How do 3D printers work?

 

In concept, Dental 3d printers operate in a very similar fashion to the home inkjet printers that you are all familiar with for printing documents and photographs from your computer. Instead of ink, Dental 3d printer use different types of plastics and composites as raw material. While inkjet printers apply a single layer to the paper to produce a printed version of your documents, Dental 3d printer apply layer after layer, one on top of the other, of plastic or composite in a very precise sequence in order to gradually build a 3-dimensional reproduction of the computer-modeled object. This process is known as ‘additive manufacturing’.

 

Additive manufacturing is just one type of 3D printing. There are other Dental 3d printer that operate with a sculpting process, which is known as ‘reduction printing’. These printers start with a solid mass of raw material and use carving tools controlled by a computer to remove excess material from the raw material, similar to how CNC machining is used to create parts made from solid blocks of metal.

 

Dental 3d printer can create virtually any object that can be rendered using a computer and will fit within the printing chamber of the printer. Some Dental 3d printer are compact enough to fit on a desktop and can create smaller objects, while others are substantially larger and are designed more for industrial or commercial applications.

 

3D printing has been adopted rapidly by many industries, as the speed and ease with which product prototypes can be produced have been drastically improved. It has also enabled the emergence of a widespread community of amateur 3D modelers and hobbyists that design and produce all kinds of items, including jewelry, artwork, toys, and more.

 

Check out the vast array of things available on sites like to get an idea of just how popular and diverse 3D printing has become around the world. You’ll be amazed at the level of precision and detail that can be achieved.

 

How have dentists used 3D printers?

 

Leveraging this technology for use in the healthcare industry didn’t take long, as innovators in the field were quick to begin experimenting with 3D printing capabilities. Patients around the world have already started receiving 3D printed objects to aid in their healthcare, including prosthetics and bone replacements. Doctors and surgeons are benefitting from the ability to quickly design and create custom and specialized medical tools, enabling them to do their jobs better, faster, and with shorter patient recovery times.

 

Dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons are using 3D printing technology in patient care as well as in research and testing. Using advanced scanning technology, exact replicas can be made of virtually any part of the human body, including the jaw and teeth. By having such precise replicas to work with, dental implants and corrective appliances can be designed to fit better, look better, and work better than ever before for each individual patient.

 

The materials that can be used to create 3D printed objects are advancing just as quickly. While the majority of objects are printed using plastics, there are now a wider variety of composite materials being used. These composites are blends of materials to produce characteristics that are best suited to the application where the 3D printed object will be used. For example, some include metallic elements, while others are more like ceramics. In dental applications, materials are being developed that will be exceptionally hard and tough, just like real tooth enamel, and can also be infused with anti-bacterial properties.

 

3D printing is most