Dentistry has made quite a few leaps. When I was young fillings were metal. Now they are a putty that dries within seconds with uv light shine upon it.
I had the same for my last guard (to keep me from grinding teeth at night). The previous guard relied on a mold, which I swear loosened a filling that fell out a week or two later.
The tech is pretty amazing. They still need a drill though.
UV resin, basically, just super high resolution that makes it incredibly expensive (even the cheaper models used for quick check measurements by dentists cost $20k+ - that is, latest tech, brand new from manufacturer, before someone drops a link for a used unit from 2018 for 10 grand). But the sheer volume makes up for it, a single printer like that can be generating pure profit within a year.
Eh, I’m not sure about that. I have an Invisalign retainer and have been 3d printing for a few years now, and from the looks of it they just did a regular FDM printing of the teeth then vacuume-formed plastic over that. Having printed the same files myself (dentist was happy to give the scan to me), and seeing as the retainer has very visible layer lines on the inside (too thick for resin printing), that seems more likely.
I was thinking it had to be a resin printer. What I thought was curious was the potential for bacteria in the layer lines, I guess with this type of printer, whatever proprietary material they’re using (lol), and the proper sanitation methods, it’s probably not an issue.
Dentistry has made quite a few leaps. When I was young fillings were metal. Now they are a putty that dries within seconds with uv light shine upon it.
Yup, and when I needed a new brace the dentist made a 3D scan of my teeth to have a custom one made.
I had the same for my last guard (to keep me from grinding teeth at night). The previous guard relied on a mold, which I swear loosened a filling that fell out a week or two later.
The tech is pretty amazing. They still need a drill though.
Also, braces are practically invisable now and 3d printed
I had a kid on my school bus ask me what color of braces she should get.
Some are. My kid just got some in a few months ago, look just like what I had in the 90s
That is curious. I wonder what type of 3d printer and what type of material
UV resin, basically, just super high resolution that makes it incredibly expensive (even the cheaper models used for quick check measurements by dentists cost $20k+ - that is, latest tech, brand new from manufacturer, before someone drops a link for a used unit from 2018 for 10 grand). But the sheer volume makes up for it, a single printer like that can be generating pure profit within a year.
Eh, I’m not sure about that. I have an Invisalign retainer and have been 3d printing for a few years now, and from the looks of it they just did a regular FDM printing of the teeth then vacuume-formed plastic over that. Having printed the same files myself (dentist was happy to give the scan to me), and seeing as the retainer has very visible layer lines on the inside (too thick for resin printing), that seems more likely.
Incredible, and thanks for the reply.
I was thinking it had to be a resin printer. What I thought was curious was the potential for bacteria in the layer lines, I guess with this type of printer, whatever proprietary material they’re using (lol), and the proper sanitation methods, it’s probably not an issue.
“SmartTrack” material tm. They’re not very forthcoming about the technical details on their commercial website.
Plastic filling with ceramic particles in my case. I honestly don’t know which tooth it’s in anymore