Dental 3D Printing - Products and Applications
With the spread of digital dentistry, dental 3D printing has moved from being a ‘support tool’ to a ‘core productivity’. From implant guides to full dentures, from temporary crowns and bridges to orthodontic models, all kinds of resin materials and printing devices are reshaping the way of work in the global laboratories.
In this paper, a complete set of dental 3D printing product introduction system is constructed from several dimensions, including material system, core product line, applicable scenarios, performance index and market trends.
First, the core value of dental 3D printing
- Rapid delivery: models can be shaped in as little as 20-30 minutes, making immediate restoration possible in clinics.
- Accurate and controllable: layer thickness up to 25-50 μm, edge fit is higher than the traditional manual.
- Dramatic cost reductions: Less material waste and continuous production day and night.
- Scalable production: the clinic can use 10-50 printers to produce different products at the same time.
Second, dental 3D printing material system and product classification
Dental light-curing resin is the core of the industry. According to different applications, they are usually divided into the following categories:
1. Diagnostic materials (Model Series)
Used for dental models, orthodontic models, implant planning, etc.
Representative performance
High precision (±50-100 μm)
High surface hardness for clear presentation of edges
Common colours: grey, beige, light yellow
Supports high speed printing, no deformation at high temperature
Typical applications
Orthodontic models
Crown and bridge wax-ups
Digital implant models
Comparison Models
2. Castable materials (Castable Series)
For precious metal and zirconia wax-ups.
Characteristics
Micro-ash (<0.1%), burns out cleanly
Sharp edges, strong sculpture
low shrinkage, suitable for high precision casting
Applications
Porcelain metal waxes
wax-ups for all-ceramic crowns
Waxes for metal denture supports
3. Surgical Guide Resins (Surgical Guide Series)
For implant positioning.
Characteristics
Medical grade formulation
highly transparent, tough, impact resistant
Autoclavable (121°C)
APPLICATIONS
Implant guides
Navigational surgical handpieces
Clinical positioning tools
4. Temporary Crown & Bridge Resin
Temporary restorations for use chairside or in the technician's office.
Core Properties
Flexural strength 90-120 MPa
Biocompatibility (ISO 10993)
High marginal precision, comparable to PMMA in terms of gloss after polishing
Can fabricate short and medium term temporary crowns/bridges
Applications
Single crowns
Multi-unit bridges
Long-term trial restorations
5. Permanent Crown Resin (PCR)
Emerging high-end material for permanent restorations.
Characteristics
Compatible with multi-layer ceramic fillers
Excellent mechanical properties (flexural resistance 120-160 MPa)
Stable colour and ageing resistance
CE/FDA approved for some materials
Applications
Permanent crowns
Inlays, veneers
Posterior occlusal restorations
6. Flexible / Soft Resin
For soft temporary wear, gingival, occlusal records, etc.
Characteristics
Shore hardness available (A60-A80)
High resilience
Simulates gingiva, soft tissue
APPLICATIONS
Gingival modelling
Denture edge fitting
Occlusal pads
7. Specialised materials for dentures (Denture Base / Denture Teeth)
Suitable for full dentures.
Material composition
PMMA-like formulation
Highly resistant to fracture and staining
Natural colour (A1-A3, gingival powder)
Applications
Printable dental trays
Printable denture teeth
Full mouth digital denture fabrication
Dental 3D Printing Application Scenarios
Scenarios Materials Used Technical Value
Orthodontic Model :High-speed printing, daily output of more than a hundred pieces
Temporary Crowns and Bridges :Chairside delivery, colour stability
Implant Guide :Improve the safety of implantation surgery
Full Denture :Digital Integration Process
Wax Casting :Enhance the precision of metal processing
Permanent Crowns :Replace a small portion of the traditional ceramic restorations
Dental 3D printing equipment
Equipment type
Desktop LCD dental printer: low cost, simple operation, suitable for clinics and small and medium-sized workshops
Industrial DLP printer: fast, high precision, support for large-scale production of a single machine can replace 3-5 LCD printers
V. Post-processing system
Dental 3D printing is not ‘print and finish’, post-processing is more critical:
Cleaning (IPA/special cleaning agent); secondary curing (UV+specific wavelengths); finishing, polishing, dyeing; clinical trial and adjusting the bite.
Industry Trends and Judgements
Permanent materials become the main battlefield, each brand competes for ‘permanent crown’ track, high strength, wear-resistant and CE/FDA certified materials will be greatly increased in the future.
3D printing denture into the accelerated period, Europe and the United States market has entered the rapid growth, the Chinese market will be fully popular in 1-2 years.
High-viscosity ceramic resin / composite resin is the future direction, both ceramic strength and resin easy to process, is the main line of the next generation of dental materials.
The supporting process will be more standardised: printing parameters, cleaning and curing process, chromosome system will be further unified to reduce the process differences between laboratories.
