Current status of and future trends in dental 3D-printing workflows: New solutions to digital challenges

The integration of 3D-printing technology into dental practices and laboratories has ushered in a new era of innovation, offering solutions to longstanding challenges and streamlining workflows in unprecedented ways. CAD, printing preparation, post-processing, material selection—every aspect of the dental 3D-printing process has been enhanced by advancements in technology. Nevertheless, there is still room for further innovation and improvements.

In this article, we will explore four major trends driving progress in the field of dental 3D printing. By embracing these advancements and leveraging the power of technology, dental professionals can enhance efficiency, precision and, ultimately, the quality of care they provide to patients.

AI and integrations: Drivers of efficiency from CAD to 3D printing

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly popular in the dental field, particularly in diagnostics, but AI is also having a great impact on design. By being integrated with CAD software, it is revolutionising the design process by providing intelligent assistance to dental professionals. AI algorithms assist in intricate part design, significantly reducing the time invested in this step of the workflow. As examples, Medit Link and 3Shape employ AI to streamline the CAD process for several applications, offering automated suggestions to enhance the final design’s quality.

Moreover, integrations from CAD to 3D-printing preparation software streamline the transition from design to printing, reducing human intervention and ensuring consistency in outcomes. Specifically, having the option of exporting STLs directly into the printing preparation software from the CAD software saves dental professionals significant time.

For instance, when aiming to scale up production without needing to add more hardware units, there are typically two avenues to explore: optimisation of the existing workflow efficiency or extension of production hours (such as introducing night shifts or weekend operations). The first option is preferable and where innovations are happening. Upon closer examination of the existing 3D-printing workflow, we can identify four key steps:

• preparation of parts for printing, involving part set-up orientation and material and layer height selection;
• transmission of prepared parts to the printers, involving allocation of print jobs to the specific printers;
• removal of the printed parts from the build platform; and
• post-processing tasks, such as washing and polymerisation of the printed parts.

Enhancing efficiency and throughput in each of these steps is crucial for unlocking greater production capacity and meeting escalating demand. Let us analyse some examples.

Printing preparation simplified with automatic presets
The printing set-up stage, often considered a complex step for novice users, is streamlined with tools like Formlabs’ PreForm Dental. These solutions automate preset creation, minimising errors and reducing the time invested in printing preparation. For example, PreForm Dental’s automatic preset creation feature allows users to preconfigure their printing settings by already configuring part orientation, printing setting, and material and layer height selection. Once this preset has been created, files can be dragged and dropped and automatically set up based on that preset.

Enhanced production capacity without extra human resources
Automation extends to print job allocation and post-processing tasks, maximising production capacity and efficiency and reducing the dependence on manual intervention. Tools like Formlabs’ Fleet Control and Form Auto automate print job management and part removal. With Fleet Control, files are uploaded to a general queue and automatically allocated to the next free unit set up with the material that matches that print job. This eliminates the need to manually allocate print jobs to specific printers. As for automatic part removal, there are several hardware solutions on the market that consist of hardware extension units that automatically remove parts from the build platform. One example is Form Auto, which is an add-on to Form 3B+ printers and automates part removal from Build Platform 2 (a build platform for stereolithography printers) and reinsertion, allowing dental professionals to achieve unsupervised production during non-operating hours with existing hardware units. For example, in a standard working day, 64 models can be printed with a Form 3B+, but with automation, that number skyrockets to 176 models per day.

Form 4B powered by Low Force Display: Accelerating printing times
Speed is a major challenge for dental professionals working to tight deadlines. Dental 3D-printing manufacturers are constantly developing new hardware solutions to address this issue, striving to deliver faster printing times without compromising accuracy and aiming for easy-to-use systems. A prime example is the cutting-edge Form 4B, which is powered by Low Force Display, a next-generation printing engine. This engine combines ultra-high-power LEDs, collimating lenses, optical filters and a robust liquid crystal display (LCD), enabling each layer of resin to be polymerised instantly, regardless of the part size or the number of objects on the build platform. This new mSLA (masked stereolithography apparatus) printer and its advanced printing engine set a new benchmark for speed, accuracy, reliability and material versatility, allowing dental professionals to print parts at remarkable speeds. For instance, users can now print an entire build platform with 11 models for thermoformed appliances in just 9 minutes.

Crucially, the increase in printing speed does not compromise accuracy. Restorative models printed on the Form 4B with Precision Model Resin at a 50 μm layer height achieve 99.7% of the printed surface to within 100 μm of the CAD model and 95% to within 50 μm. The printer’s high-resolution LCD, with its 50 μm pixel size and pretuned anti-aliasing, delivers sharp details, smooth surface finishes and precise tolerances. The custom LCD also features high light transmission, maximising optical power to the resin and ensuring exceptional printing speed.

Fast Cure solutions: Expedited post-processing
These solutions utilise advanced polymerisation technologies to accelerate the polymerisation process, reducing turnaround times for finished dental products. For instance, Fast Cure solutions utilise 56 high-intensity ultraviolet LED light to rapidly polymerise printed parts, allowing dental professionals to expedite post-processing, as time is reduced to a maximum of 6 minutes, and deliver final products to patients more quickly.

Material innovation: Expanding possibilities

Material innovation is a driving force behind advancements in dental 3D printing. With the development of biocompatible resins for printing end-use appliances, allowing professionals to adopt model-less workflows, we have already seen an important shift in the production processes and delivery times. We will continue to see this area grow significantly, but one interesting factor is that these biocompatible resins are being tested to cover more indications with the same material. Some notable examples of material innovation are Formlabs’ Dental LT Comfort Resin, IBT Flex Resin and Premium Teeth Resin.