Dental & Healthcare
Capable of rendering a wide range of oral appliances, models and more, additive manufacturing is poised to take off in dentistry.
- Replace or repair a damaged tooth: The dentist scans the patient’s mouth with a small digital wand. This creates a 3D image of the teeth and gums, which is saved as a computer file. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software enables the dentist to digitally design the tooth repair and print the finished product on a 3D printer.
- Create an orthodontic model: Pre-3D printer technology includes having the patient bite down on gooey, uncomfortable clay so it could harden into a mold, which becomes the initial model for designing a treatment for braces or Invisalign. This is not so with 3D printing. A dentist can use the same technology highlighted in the first example to scan the teeth, design an orthodontic appliance and print the end result in-house.
- Produce crowns, bridges, caps, dentures and more: The same process outlined above can be used to 3D print all kinds of dental implants. The only difference is the precise material used in the printing process.
- Construct surgical tools: Not only can 3D printers handle the dental implants themselves, but they can also 3D print the drill guides needed to complete certain dental procedures.
From the inventors of LCD 3DPrinting, the Photocentric LC Opus delivers fast, highly accurate prints, suitable for dental and orthodontic industries and applications. As the name suggests, LC Opus enables you to create works of art right from the start!