27/10/2021
Dentistry has relied on laboratories to produce crowns, bridges and other implants for many years. Appliances like dental crows, bridges, and surgical guides can be 3D printed directly with biocompatible resins. Castable resins can be used to make investment patterns for casting dental alloys.
How you can benefit from 3D printing for your dental appliances?
✅Dentists save money: Adding on a dental laboratory is a significant cost for any dental practice. If implemented in-house, the initial cost alone could be $100,000. Then, employing skilled staff to produce dental implants presents a considerable ongoing investment. In all, depending on the volume of work, the cost of running a dental laboratory can reach $100,000 per year. Compare this to the one-time cost of about $20,000 for a top-model 3D printer, which includes a starting supply of materials. Ongoing materials factor into the lifetime cost, but it’s far, far lower than running a dental lab.
✅Patients save money: The high costs of adding and running a dental laboratory is reflected in each patient’s bill. Using traditional technologies, a single crown can easily cost a patient $2,000 or more. When 3D printers lower overhead costs by 80 percent, dentists can pass the savings on to their patients.
✅Dental and orthopedic services are faster and more accurate: Manual model-making is time consuming while 3D printing allows for multiple appliances to be printed at once. Accuracy is also improved since 3D printers convert digital images into physical objects by printing 16-micron-thick layers one on top of the other. Increased production capacity and more accurate end results benefit both dentists and patients.
