US-based 3D printer and material maker Stratasys launched a new material that produces full-color, natural-looking dentures in a single piece ready for patients to wear.
Stratasys, which has made printers and materials for the dental industry for years, says this new solution will be transformative for the dental industry, adding that it will help dental labs significantly reduce the time and cost of producing full and temporary dentures.
The advantage of the new resin with the Stratasys 3D printer and software, the company says, is its ability to print volume batches of dentures where each one is patient-specific based on individual dental scans.
As a monolithic solution, there is no assembly, something that’s uncommon compared to other 3D printed denture solutions. Often, the gums of the denture are 3D printed in one material, while the teeth are printed in another and then assembled. Stratasys’ polyjet 3D printers can print with multiple materials and multiple colors at once.
“Until now, printed dentures and appliances had to be designed and manufactured in multiple parts and bonded together,” says Frank Acosta, owner of AA Dental Design in Murrieta, Calif. “The TrueDent solution, utilizing Stratasys’ systems and software, takes a lot of that stress out. We can now expand our prosthetic service printing multi-colored personalized appliance at scale.”
The new TrueDent resin is an FDA-cleared (Class II) material made specifically for fabricating dental appliances, including removable dentures. It was made for use exclusively with the Stratasys J5 DentaJet 3D printer, and is initially only available in the US. Not exactly ready to try in from the 3D printer, the dentures are printed encapsulated in support material that’s removed via water jet, and then the denture is cured and polished.
Of the millions of dentures created annually in the US, only 5% are estimated to be created through a 3D printed solution, according to 2021 research from iData.
“The global digital dentistry market is projected to continue growing in the coming years, driven by ongoing technological advancements and increasing demand for efficient and precise dental care,” says iData. “However, the market is also facing some challenges, such as high cost of equipment and lack of awareness among the population.”
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