Industry: Dentistry Industry
Introduction
3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid
objects from a digital file.
With the technology of 3D printing, we can create a 3D
printed object by using the additive processes. An entire object is created by laying
down successive layers of material. Each of these layers can be seen as a
thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
With the improvement of the 3D printing
technology, we can find that these technology can be applied in different kinds
of industry. For instance, construction industry, fashion industry, supply
chain management industry etc. In this blog, we will discuss how 3D printing
can be applied in Dentistry industry.
Dentistry industry
Dentistry is a branch of medicine mainly focuses on of oral health. It
includes study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and
conditions of the oral cavity. Although it is generally believed that dentistry
is just limited to odontology, it is not because dentistry is proved to be
important for overall health.
For the part of dental treatment, the
dental organization manufactures and customizes different kinds of products
to assist licensed dentist to provide dental health care. The varieties of
products are crowns, bridges and dentures etc.
Past practice of Dentistry Industry
Traditionally, the dentist should diagnose the dental
diseases of the patient firstly. Then, the dentist may write down the
instruction for the Dental Laboratory. The Dental Laboratory will follow the
detailed written instructions and using impressions molds of the patient’s
teeth or oral soft tissues to create the full dentures for patients who lose
all of their teeth, removable partial dentures or fixed bridges for patients
who are missing only one or a few teeth, crowns, which are caps for teeth that
are designed to restore their original size and shape etc.
For instance of using crown, It is often adopted when a
huge cavity threatens the ongoing health of a tooth. Crown can be formed by
many materials, usually fabricated using indirect methods. The most common
method of crowning teeth is to use a dental impression of prepared teeth by a
dentist to fabricate the crown outside of the mouth.
Impact of
globalization
The Dentistry
industry all over the world have been affected by the globalization. The
R&D cost for the dentistry industry was high before as they have to develop
a dental laboratory to do the research. The globalization can bring lots of
dental laboratories together. They may share the information of their research
to each other. For example, they can share that how to design the implant,
crown and dentures for the patient in the accurately and rapidly way. With the increasing
effect for globalization, the technology for dentistry will become more mature.
On the other
hand, globalization increase the competition of the dentistry industry. As the
effect of globalization, the information will transfer rapidly and the
technology for dentistry will become mature. The technology for dentistry will
be shared and most of the competitors can have enough technology to custom the
products for the dental treatment. The dentistry organizations have to lower
the price for their custom product in order to compete.
How 3D
printing can be applied in Dentistry industry
3D printing technology can be applied in the dental
treatment. 3D printing can be used to custom manufacture the dentures with
intricate details. The custom dentures can be created by using the additive
processes. 3D printing improve the efficiencies of digital design of dentures to
the production stage. By combining oral scanning, CAD design and 3D printing,
dentist can accurately and rapidly produce custom dentures to the patient.
Digital Dentistry Using 3D Printers.
3D Scanning and Printing A Dental Model
Development of 3D printed Dentistry Products
3D printing are changing the dentistry industry at a very
fast rate. 3D printing technology can create two products which are CAD file
and custom dentures for Dentistry industry.
Firstly, 3D printing can help to use a CAD software to
design restorations and models from scan data. Before using the 3D printers to
print the parts, the dentist have to create the CAD file. It is a better way
for design the restorations and models as the dentist just impression molds of
the patient’s teeth before.
Secondly, 3D printer is a highly accurate, reliable tool
to replicate that data to create custom crowns, bridges and dentures etc.
Custom Dental Models
Impact of 3D printing for Dentistry industry
Firstly, 3D printing can successfully create the accurate
and reliable product for the dentist. When the dentistry organization manufactures the
dentures, they may face the problem that there are many intricate details for
different people, such as a tooth's irregular grooves, crannies and valleys. 3D
printing can help to reproduce the complete removable dentures in a faster and
feasible way. This process can be able to custom manufacture the dentures with
intricate details. For instance, if the patient would like to repair a cracked
tooth, the dentist will scan the patient's teeth and then use a 3D printer to
cut out the implant.
Secondly, the
technology can digitize the workflow of dentists. 3D printer can automate the dentist‘s
model work, the dentist can dramatically reduce fabrication times and increase
output per technician. With the scanner and 3D printer doing the work, the
dentist can have more time to build customer satisfaction as they do not need
to manually model the detail of the denture. Also, with a fully digital
process, the dentist do not need to store bulky, physical models. They can
store all the cases digitally and access the record when they need. For instance,
the dentist can digitize the patient’s record. The CAD file can be saved as the
patient's record, the dentist can assess the file when they do the review with
the patient.
Also, 3D printing technology can meet
the needs of dental labs and clinics. According to the recent news, the
dentists can now print a tooth in 6.5 minutes. With the advancements in 3D
printing technology, the 3D printing speed are increasing. One of the 3D
printing company Carbon3D stated that they can accelerates 3D printing speeds
by a factor of up to 100. It means that you only need to meet the dentist one
time. You can just wait in the dental chair to diagnose the teeth and replace
the dentures.
Conclusion
With the race of the 3D printing company
to improve the 3D printing techniques, the 3D printing can print the model in a
very fast way. By the popularization of the 3D printing, the price for the 3D
printers and the materials will decrease a lot. The 3D printing technology will
change every industry to produce the physical goods. The dentistry industry is
one of the industry that can benefit from 3D printing technology. In the
future, I believe that 3D printers will appear in every dentist’s office once
the price of 3D printer decrease to an acceptable price. Also, we can finish
the whole dental treatment in 30 minutes as the 3D printer can print the
dentures faster and faster. Moreover, when the 3D printer can print different
kinds of materials, we can even custom a gold teeth.
References:
ADA Sites. 2015. Dental Laboratory
Technology. Retrieved from http://www.ada.org/en/education-careers/careers-in-dentistry/dental-team-careers/dental-laboratory-technology.
Accessed 1 May 2015.
Anne Quito. 28 March 2015. Dentists will
soon be able to 3D print you a new tooth in minutes. Retrieved from http://qz.com/367187/3d-printed-teeth/.
Accessed 1 May 2015.
Javelin. 2015. Dental. Retrieved from http://www.javelin-tech.com/3d-printer/industry/dental/
. Accessed 1 May 2015.
Stratasys Ltd. 2015. Dental. Retrieved from
http://www.stratasys.com/industries/dental.
Accessed 1 May 2015.
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