Desktop Printing. By Leonora Ward

DESKTOP PRINTING

By Leonora Ward, Editorial Board Member

3D printing

technology is moving at an incredible pace, so if it is something you have just started looking into, you’ll be forgiven for thinking it’s a bit of a minefield!

Before simply buying a 3D printer for your lab, you need to look beyond the upfront acquisition cost. It’s important to carefully weigh the options and find the best possible machine for your needs.

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?

3D printers for dentistry generally fall into one of two major categories. On the one hand we have the industrialgrade, high-throughput machines that feature huge capacity and pinpoint accuracy. While these machines are often a good choice for larger dental labs that create hundreds of appliances per day, their high upfront cost, large size, and maintenance requirements mean that they’re often an impractical solution for individual, smaller labs.

Desktop 3D printers, on the other hand, feature excellent quality at a significantly reduced price and are a much more manageable size. Desktop 3D printers are just as versatile as their larger counterparts but tend to feature smaller build platforms and lower overall throughput.

With the decrease in price, size, and maintenance offered by high-resolution desktop 3D printers, that technology is now within reach for many smaller labs. They’re an incredible tool to help speed up delivery times, increase efficiencies, and impress your dentists. But if you’re new to the tech, where do you even start? In the following sections, we work through some of the most commonly asked questions relating to 3D printing in dentistry.

WHY IS 3D PRINTING IMPORTANT FOR DENTISTRY?

Over the last decade, the widespread proliferation of dental 3D scanners, CAD/CAM treatment planning software, and dental mills have contributed to an improved patient experience in dentistry.

If you already have an intraoral scanner and planning software in place, a 3D printer is the missing part of the jigsaw – the final step in the process which will bring everything together and enable you to maximise your other digital investments.

3D printers can provide highly customised manufacturing for single-unit or small-batch parts at a significantly lower cost than traditional methods, with much less labour and greater reliability and repeatability. Because they’re capable of printing disparate objects without the need for retooling, they’re ideal for the type of production required in dentistry.

Fabricating multiple copies of slightly different parts (such as models for clear aligners) or a single copy of a single part (such as a surgical guide) is a very expensive, labour-intensive process in the world of traditional dental manufacturing.

Pouring-up models in stone creates a lot of waste and can be very time-consuming. 3D printing has the potential to make this process much faster and less expensive.

3D-printed dental appliances cut across a wide selection of therapies and disciplines, including orthodontic treatments such as models for making clear aligners, retainers, and indirect bonding trays. General dentistry can benefit from many of these same treatments with the addition of biocompatible full-arch surgical guides, splints and nightguards, digital dentures, cast, retainers, removable die models, and temporary crowns. This list will grow as the technology and material capabilities develop. With such a wide variety of uses from a single tool, it’s clear to see how 3D printing can provide a huge benefit to dental laboratories.

WHAT MAKES A 3D PRINTER DENTAL?

The adoption of 3D printers by the dental industry has been driven by innovation in three areas:

1. Biocompatible materials

The development of biocompatible printing materials is at the heart of dental 3D printer adoption. While the production of dental models is crucial for many labs, the ability to create intraoral dental appliances such as nightguards, surgical guides, and digital dentures, vastly increases the usefulness and functionality of the machines.

Since the introduction of biocompatible materials for 3D printing in dentistry, there has been an emphasis on improving mechanical properties in order to provide printed intraoral parts that have enough strength and resistance for patient use. Because new and better materials could come from a variety of suppliers, it’s important to choose a 3D printer that supports third-party materials.

With many companies scrambling to add certified dental resin capabilities to their 3D printer line-up, it’s clear to see that 3D printing in dentistry is only set to increase in popularity. A cursory look at the most popular printers will give the impression that any of their machines will dramatically improve your dental workflow. But if they cannot print final dental appliances with certified biocompatible resin, their usefulness in dentistry will be limited.

2. Accuracy and repeatability

The primary requirements of dental manufacturing are high accuracy and repeatable results. It isn’t enough for a single print to provide good results; they need to be consistent and repeatable over time and across various environments.

Accuracy and repeatability are essential qualities for a dental 3D printer. Recent advancements in materials and printing technology have supercharged the accuracy of 3D printers, propelling them beyond what was originally thought possible.

3. Production speed and scalability

To keep pace with a busy lab, a good dental 3D printer should offer rapid print speeds and high overall production throughput. To this end, build plate size and light delivery technology are features that should not be overlooked. Although your lab may not need high throughput immediately, production needs can scale up rapidly. A printer that seems adequate before you start may become a bottleneck when requirements increase.

While dental 3D printers are sometimes used to manufacture only one or two parts at a time, many cases require the rapid fabrication of a large number of parts. Clear aligner cases are the obvious example of this, but batched nightguards, surgical guides, and denture bases all require large print volume as well.

WHAT FACTORS AFFECT PRINTER SPEED?

There are still big differences in production speed and scalability between individual printers, and the discrepancies are largely due to the technology.

Digital dentistry is primarily served by a type of 3D printer that falls under the umbrella term stereolithography. There are three ways to deliver light to cure photosensitive, liquid resin - each with its own advantages and drawbacks. POST PROCESSING

The post processing of resin models and appliances can sometimes be overlooked. It’s important to understand the process and whether it’s compatible with the resins you want to use.

When working with resin, a wash and cure station drastically simplifies postprocessing. Since you’ll need to wash, dry then harden resin 3D prints, a wash and cure station is a must-have.

Many manufacturers will have their own units that work with their printers, offering features like pre programmable materials and timings to ensure resin materials are processed correctly.

THE TIME IS NOW

3D printing for dentistry is developing at a rapid pace, and there’s no doubt that it will continue to make amazing advances in performance and reliability in the coming years.

Understandably, this can give rise to concerns about machines quickly becoming outdated. After all, when you’re making a significant investment in new kit, you want it to stand the test of time.

However, if you carefully consider your choice and select a printer that allows for 3rd party resins, and has a robust software and hardware ecosystem, you’ll quickly see the benefits as it will dramatically improve speed, quality, customisability, and costs. If you want to future-proof your lab and invest in 3D printing, there’s never been a better time than right now.