Do you need a 3D printer in your dental clinic?
Over the past few decades, 3D printing has become an increasingly accessible and transformative tool for many industries, including dentistry. Thanks to innovative materials, improved hardware design and powerful AI-based software applications, dental clinics and labs can now produce a wide range of models, prototypes and functional dental appliances!
But is a 3D printer the right investment for you?
If you're considering integrating 3D printing into your clinic, this article is for you. We'll explore what you can print, compare different 3D printing technologies, discuss their benefits, limitations and costs - and help you decide if 3D printing is right for your practice.
What can you 3D print?
3D printing is an additive manufacturing technology that creates dental appliances layer by layer using digital data.
With a 3D printer, you can produce:
Surgical guides for implant placement.
Provisional and definitive restorations like crowns, bridges, or veneers.
Diagnostic models for treatment planning and patient communication.
Custom appliances such as occlusal splints or nightguards.
TMD splints to provide effective relief and support for temporomandibular joint disorders.
With a 3D printer, dental clinics and labs can produce patient-specific appliances directly on-site. This significantly shortens production times and improves the accuracy of fit and aesthetics of the finished dental restorations.
For dental practices, the integration of 3D printers offers numerous advantages: Dentists can save chair time, reduce costs for external labs and maintain full control over the production process. 3D printing helps you to manage challenging cases efficiently and offer your patients more modern, precise and personalized care.
How does 3D printing work?
But how exactly do you print the dental appliances? Let’s walk through the steps:
The foundation of 3D printing: High quality scans
The 3D printing process starts with capturing patient data with the intraoral scanner, face and CBCT scans. The scans form the basis of the 3D print and are typically exported as either STL or PLY files:
STL files are the most used format and are widely compatible with 3D printing software. However, the STL file does not contain colour information and is always monochrome.
PLY files contain additional details like color, transparency, and texture, which makes them useful for digital treatment planning or creating patient avatars.
While PLY files are useful for the planning process, the colour of the printed model will ultimately depend on the selected resin: A grey resin will produce a grey model.
If you work with an external lab, we recommend sending them the PLY file so the technician can use the colour information if needed.
Creating a Digital Model
The files are then imported into CAD software such as 3Shape or Exocad to design dental models, splints, surgical guides, or restorations. Once the design is finalized, it is prepared for 3D printing in the nesting software:
Place the model on the building platform and add support structures if needed.
Select the appropriate layer thickness, which affects the printing quality and production time. For example, a 50-micron model will be twice as accurate as a 100-micron model, but it will have twice as many layers and therefore take twice as long to print.
For some workflows, innovative AI-powered solutions can streamline the process. SprintRay printers allow users to upload the scans directly to the printer, where the software automatically creates a printable design. This saves time and simplifies the workflow.
Material Selection
Choosing the right material is critical as it will affect the colour, biocompatibility, durability, flexibility and longevity of the appliance.
Choosing the right material is critical, as the color, biocompatibility, durability, flexibility and longevity may vary depending on the appliance's intended use.
Here are some examples:
Dark resin offers a good contrast for study models.
Semi-flexible transparent materials are ideal for splints.
Durable tooth-colored resin works well for temporary bridges
A hybrid material of resin and ceramic is perfect for definitive restorations.
Setting up the printer
Once you have chosen your material, you need to set up your printer:
Fill the resin tank with the selected material. You can easily change the resin by swapping the tanks.
Insert the resin tank securely to prevent spillage and unwanted UV exposure.
Make sure the build platform is clean and ready to use. This is where your object will be built. The platform will lower into the resin tank and print the model layer by layer.
Press the button to start the printing process.
Post-Processing
Depending on the type of printer you used, you may need to post-process your printed models:
Clean the printed appliance with isopropyl alcohol to remove excess resin.
Cure the object under UV light to solidify its structure and ensure biocompatibility.
Finish the printed appliance by removing the support structures, fitting and polishing. Staining and glazing give a unique finish to the provisional or final restoration.
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What types of 3D printers and 3D printing technologies exist?
What types of 3D printers and 3D printing technologies are there?
When selecting a 3D printer, it's important to understand the different technologies and how they're used. Choosing the right printer depends on your practice’s needs, the types of appliances you want to produce, and your budget.
There are two main types of printers used in dentistry: FDM printers and resin (SLA/DLP) printers. Let's explore their technologies, benefits, limitations and costs.
FDM Printers:
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers are known for their simplicity and affordability. These printers work by extruding heated thermoplastic filament through a nozzle to build objects layer by layer. Each layer cools and solidifies, bonding with the previous one to create a strong, accurate structure.
FDM printers are ideal for producing diagnostic models, prototypes or aligner bases. They are a great choice for basic modelling, but are not suitable for more complex dental work.
Advantages of FDM printers:
The printing process is fairly simple and affordable, with minimal post-processing.
The large build platforms allow multiple models to be printed simultaneously, although this comes at the cost of longer print times.
Limitations of FDM printers:
FDM printers are less accurate and detailed than resin printers.
The prints are not suitable for devices that come into contact with the patient's mouth.
The printing process is quite slow. It typically takes 4 hours to print two models or 32 hours to print 16 models simultaneously.
Cost of FDM printers:
Entry-level FDM printers such as PRUSA cost less than 1.000€. However, the accuracy is too low for dental purposes and they are not made for continuous professional use. That's why we recommend brands like RAISE 3D, which offer FDM printers with special features for improved accuracy in dental production, such as an even more precise micro nozzle and a tuned extruder.
The RAISE 3D Pro 3 is a highly reliable and accurate filament printer for dentists and costs around 6.000€.
Resin Printers (SLA/DLP):
Resin printers use liquid photopolymer resins that harden into solid layers when exposed to UV light. This technology is ideal for producing high precision models, surgical guides, splints and even definitive restorations. Depending on the selected resin, the final product can vary in colour, durability and elasticity. There are even printable ceramics for definitive crowns!
When considering resin printers, you can choose between SLA (Stereolithography) and DLP (Digital Light Processing) technologies. The main difference is how the UV light is applied: SLA printers use a laser to cure resin layer by layer, precisely following the geometry of the design. This approach provides incredible detail. DLP printers, on the other hand, use a stationary digital projector to cure entire layers of resin at a time, which speeds up the printing process.
Freshly printed resin models must be washed with isopropyl alcohol to remove excess resin and cured under UV light to achieve final strength and biocompatibility.
Limitations of resin printers:
SLA printers have more moving parts, which can lead to higher maintenance costs over time.
Resin printers require a complete ecosystem, including washers and curing equipment, which significantly increases the initial cost.
Advantages of resin printers:
SLA printers produce highly detailed designs and are perfect for manufacturing complex dental appliances.
The extremely fast and efficient DLP printers are ideal for time-sensitive workflows and high-volume production.
Both SLA and DLP printers are compatible with a wide range of resins to manufacture a variety of applications from surgical guides to definitive restorations.
Limitations of resin printers:
SLA printers have more moving parts, which can lead to higher maintenance costs over time.
Resin printers require a complete ecosystem, including washers and curing equipment, which significantly increases the initial cost.
Cost of resin printers:
A complete resin printing ecosystem, including printer, washer and curing unit, typically costs between 12.000€ and 15.000€. You will also need to purchase different resins to print with. Leading brands in the field include Formlabs, which is well-known for its SLA printers. SprintRay offers incredibly fast and accurate DLP printers designed specifically for dentists. These printers come with AI-based software that creates printable designs to make the printing process easier for you. Both brands provide their own resins but also support a range of third-party materials.
Should you invest in a 3D printer?
Whether a 3D printer is a profitable investment for your practice depends on several key factors.
As mentioned earlier, an intraoral scanner is essential as the data foundation for 3D printing. Without one, investing in a 3D printer wouldn’t make much sense. However, if your clinic is already equipped with a scanner, adding a 3D printer is the logical next step to further digitalize and optimize your processes.
A 3D printer is particularly valuable if your practice has a high volume of patients and frequently needs to produce splints, temporaries or implant guides. It is also beneficial for clinics that regularly deal with complex cases and require fast, high quality and accurate results.
The advantages of in-house printing are obvious:
Efficiency: you can print customized dental applications in a matter of hours rather than waiting for external labs, which often take days.
Cost savings: After the initial investment, you can significantly reduce the production costs of your dental appliances.
Patient satisfaction: Shorter waiting times and customized results make for a better treatment experience and differentiate your clinic.
However, if you only need to print occasionally or don't have the resources to manage printing in-house, it may make more sense to work with an external lab. Alternatively, you can hire a dental technician to handle the printing process.
Integrating 3D printers into the digital workflow
3D printers are not a stand-alone tool in digital dentistry but reach their full potential as part of an integrated digital workflow. The digital workflow starts by gathering patient data, like intraoral scans as well as face and CBCT scans. The collected data is imported into CAD software to create digital designs for dental prostheses, surgical templates or models. These digital designs can be sent directly to the 3D printer, eliminating intermediate analog steps. The result is a highly efficient and fully digital manufacturing process that improves both accuracy and speed.
Thanks to the increasing compatibility between different digital tools and technologies like intraoral scanners, cloud platforms, CAD/CAM systems and 3D printers, dental clinics and labs can collaborate more effectively. The connections help to optimize the digital workflow significantly: The production time is reduced; adjustments can be implemented quickly, and the resulting dental appliances are precise and durable. Biocompatible printing materials also open new possibilities for individual, high-quality solutions.
Learn how to 3D print with the Digital Dentistry Masterclass
If you want to learn how to master 3D printing and integrate 3D printing into a complete digital workflow, consider joining our Digital Dentistry Masterclass.
This comprehensive hands-on course covers the entire digital workflow, including intraoral scanning, digital treatment planning and 3D printing. Alternatively, a bespoke course allows you to focus exclusively on 3D printing, learning how to use different 3D printers in our digital dental lab.
Conclusion: Is Your Practice Ready for 3D Printing?
A 3D printer greatly expands your possibilities in modern dentistry - from producing temporary bridges and definitive crowns to splints and surgical guides. By printing in-house, you can achieve faster turnaround times, improved control over production and increased efficiency when managing complex cases. However, the key to success is good planning and the seamless integration of 3D printing into an existing digital workflow.
If your practice already invested in an intraoral scanner and you are ready to take the next step in digitalization, 3D printing can be the perfect next addition to your setup. For professional and efficient 3D printing, we recommend a resin printer, particularly a DLP model. It offers a fast, accurate, and reliable printing process to produce high quality, patient-ready appliances.
Happy printing!