Dental AM
Dental additive manufacturing became the first segment to achieve the production of certain end-use parts, effectively fueling growth for all main traditional polymer additive manufacturing hardware and material stakeholders. Photopolymerization (and material jetting, which is a type of photopolymerization) companies such as Stratasys, 3D Systems, EnvisionTEC, DWS and Prodways – embraced the dental AM segment first.
They were followed by two different categories of companies. On one hand, leading dental companies that began developing their own dental 3D printers (mainly based on DLP technology) and 3D printing-specific dental materials. On the other, leading metal laser PBF hardware providers such as EOS, 3D Systems, SLM Solutions, TRUMPF and Renishaw above that began targeting permanent dental implants as a key business area. More recently, leading ceramic AM firms, such as Lithoz, 3D Ceram and XJet got involved more directly and are seeing significant opportunities for dental implants directly 3D printed in ceramic.
Even more recently the next generation of polymer AM companies entered the arena targeting true digital mass production. Boston-based Formlabs entered the segment providing an accessible and low-cost solution mainly for dental models, while Silicon Valley-based Carbon also entered the market with new materials and the ability to provide very high productivity both for models and tools for custom thermoformed aligners. Both solutions have dramatically increased AM penetration within the entire dental industry at all levels, including the dentist’s office. However, HP was the first company to achieve a million-part application in dentistry by using its technology indirectly, to produce millions of mass-customized tools for dental aligners manufactured by Smile Direct. In fact, dental aligners – including those manufactured by market leader Invisalign – are now one of the hottest applications in this segment.
In general, polymer 3D printers and materials are used in dentistry on several levels: to directly produce models from intraoral scans, CT scans and MRI’s; to produce patterns and molds for end-use materials; to produce visual models, surgical guides and even temporaries – with some now envisioning the direct production of permanent prostheses using polymer-nanoceramic composite materials. Metal and ceramic 3D printers and materials are used as real alternatives to subtractive production methods, reducing material waste.
Historically, dental additive manufacturing technologies have been applied in dental laboratories for over two decades, and more recently they have begun to be adopted by dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons. The use of 3D printing in the laboratory and the dentist’s office has been steadily growing for the past several years. Now the dental opportunity has emerged as one of the most relevant for the AM industry as a whole, with literally hundreds of thousands of potential adopters all over the world.
The apparent paradox is that – as dental technologies become more and more established within the dental industry – AM’s visibility within the dental segment has been progressively decreasing, as adopters now increasingly see it as standard practice. In this month’s AM focus we are going to highlight the latest opportunities for AM in dentistry.
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Saremco introduces new cleaning concentrate as alternative to IPA
The fast-paced dental industry is always on the lookout for a new material that brings ease of use alongside an increase in the quality of the final parts. For years,…
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Align Technology to acquire Cubicure
Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALGN) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Cubicure GmbH, a pioneer in direct 3D printing solutions for polymer additive manufacturing that develops,…
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BMF enters dental market with the launch of UltraThineer
Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF), a leader in advanced manufacturing solutions for ultra-high precision applications, has entered the dental market with the launch of UltraThineer, the world’s thinnest cosmetic dental veneer.…
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Desktop Health and Carbon partner on dental AM offering
Desktop Health, a brand of Desktop Metal, and Carbon, two leaders in the oral health additive manufacturing space, have validated Flexcera Smile Ultra+ for use on the Carbon platform –…
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Adoption of Stratasys’ TrueDent increases across the US
US dental labs Posca Brothers Dental Laboratory, Artisan Dental Laboratory, and Express Dental Laboratory are among the many dental labs across the country that have quickly adopted Stratasys’ TrueDent 3D…
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Glidewell and LuxCreo launch fastprint.io 3D Printing Solution
Glidewell, one of the largest dental labs, and a leader in dental technology, in the USA, has entered a new partnership with LuxCreo, a leading 3D printing company in dental…
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SprintRay launches NightGuard Flex and ProCure 2 in Canada and Europe
SprintRay, an industry leader in digital dentistry, has launched its NightGuard Flex 3D printing resin and ProCure 2 in Canada and Europe. Working with the SprintRay 3D printing ecosystem, NightGuard…
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SprintRay and Braces On Demand enter orthodontic partnership
SprintRay, an industry leader in digital dentistry, has entered a partnership with Braces On Demand, an online platform for in-office printing of orthodontic fixed appliances, to provide automated, end-to-end 3D printing…
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3D Systems introduces new dental materials and printing platform
3D Systems has further expanded its digital dentistry portfolio with the release of new materials (NextDent Base and NextDent Cast) and a new printing platform (the NextDent LCD1) – helping…
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VoxelMatters Medical VM Focus 2023 eBook
The medical sector is driven by innovation and a mission to improve patient care. Given that, it makes perfect sense that it has been an enthusiastic adopter of additive manufacturing…