3d printing has undoubtedly influenced many industries heavily and one such industry is dentistry. This article will help you learn how the entire dentistry field has been influenced by 3d printing. During the past decade, 3d printing in dentistry has grown significantly with several applications such as fixing broken teeth being developed. Since dental 3D printers have to be accurate, the common technologies used include:
• Digital Light Processing
• Stereolithography
Now, deferent resins are used depending on the application and this has led to the development of specialized resins for the sole purpose of use in dental 3D printers. The 3D printing is carried out in labs and at dentist offices thus ensuring the ease and speed of the entire process.
3D printing in dentistry allows for widespread application
Over the years, dentists have discovered that 3D printing makes their work quite easy and there are numerous applications. A few applications, however, have become popular and are adopted by several dental institutions. Many dentists around the world use 3D printing for the following purposes.
1. Aligners and night guards
Nightguards and aligners are undoubtedly the most common application of 3D printing in dentistry. Over the past years, aligners have become alternatives to braces simply because they are transparent and therefore deemed as invisible.
It only takes a few hours to produce an entire batch of night guards and aligners. Thanks to 3D printing the products are custom made and more accurate, thus ensuring they are effective. These aligners and night guards are created using precise patient teeth scans, thereby allowing for extreme accuracy.
Many companies, labs, and doctors have adopted this application making it quite popular all over the world. The good news, however, is that there is finally an invisible option to braces that are comfortable and custom made.
2. Crowns
Did you know that when you break a tooth, your dentist has to create a crown that acts as a replacement for the broken part? This process is quite expensive and honestly time-consuming. Now, 3D printing in dentistry is fixing this predicament by making the creation of crowns simple.
All you dentist needs to do is scan your broken tooth and create the crown models using specialized software. The crown can be created right in the dentist’s office within just 30 minutes which in my opinion is pretty incredible.
A process that usually took several weeks is reduced to just thirty minutes thanks to the application of 3D printing in dentistry. This process makes everything cheaper for the patient and dentist.
3. Surgical guides
Oral surgeries are complicated and require extreme precision. 3D printing in dentistry has allowed dentists to achieve the required precision during oral surgeries quite easily. 3d printed guides are an indispensable asset to any dentist because they are designed to fit the patient’s mouth perfectly.
Dentists scan a patient’s teeth and design a model that has an opening on the exact spot where surgery needs to be done.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that 3D printing in dentistry has revolutionized the entire industry. More companies are coming up with new ideas on how 3D printing could help solve lots of problems encountered in the dental industry.