How 3D Printing is Revolutionizing Dentistry
It is only fair to say that dentistry has evolved since it was introduced. Incorporating technology fuels this evolution into branches of medical sciences like dentistry.
We know technology and the application of science towards making life easier. Thus, incorporating technology into dentistry has made life in this field more accessible and faster while pushing the field to evolve constantly.
The change that technology brings to a field does not stop as it always looks for ways to optimize the previous solutions it has proffered to develop a better and more effective solution.
This drive from technology has led to the development of various methods and solutions to help better understand how oral health works, the factors affecting oral health, and how to treat oral health problems.
The application of technology in dentistry can be seen through the various equipment and devices dentists can use to increase the efficiency of their diagnosis and proffer excellent solutions to dental problems. Some of these technological applications include digital x-rays, 3D printing devices, and modeling machines.
One of the various dentists who have testified about how technology has improved dentistry is a local Clifton dentist, Dr. Leary. He cited how technology has benefited dentistry, primarily by introducing 3D dental printers.
This article will focus on what 3D dental printing is and how it has benefited dentistry and dentists over the years. Read on for more information.
What is 3D Dental Printing?
Similar to regular printers, except they print out high-definition images of teeth and the oral system. These images give the dentist a clearer picture of a patient’s dentition, thus, allowing them to make more accurate and informed diagnoses of what problem affects the patient’s dental health and procure an accurate solution to the problem.
How Does 3D Printing Work?
This form of technology functions by using sensors to capture an exact image of a patient’s dentition, the image is then printed out or displayed digitally on a monitor. The displayed image is then printed for use in creating models for analysis, designing a customized denture for a patient, and deciphering the extent of damage to a patient’s dental health.
Benefits of 3D Printing in Dentistry
It is essential to note that dentistry is not the only part where dentistry is applied because it is used in other medical fields. However, the focus is on oral health; thus, these are some o the ways this technology has benefited dentistry:
1. Improved dental product quality: Before the advent of 3D printing in dentistry, the traditional methods involved manually crafting dental products; thus, the chances of producing contaminated products were high.
This is because the entire process of manufacturing the products, from processing the raw materials used in production to the actual modeling itself, was very challenging, and the artisans were liable to make mistakes.
Hence, the resulting products will have a large number of average products. However, these factors are in check with 3D printing reducing the risks of producing contaminated products.
2. Faster and more accurate dental services: The traditional methods used then in delivering dental services require different phases before results can be obtained, from the examination to the image processing to the diagnosis. Each phase required a specific amount of time before results could be obtained.
This process consumed much time, and the risks of a mistake occurring were increased. However, 3D printing conducts the same phase protocols for dental services in a faster time. Since it used the specifications and dimensions it scanned, the results and imaging were more accurate.
3. Better patient experience: From the benefits above, we can denote that the dental service experience was demanding for the practitioners and very discomforting for the patients because they ended up spending more time before they could solve their dental problem.
However, the experience has been very different since the adoption of 3D printing because the demerits of traditional methods are being minimized, resulting in a more convenient experience for patients.
4. Save money: This is a two-way benefit because the dentists save money by not employing much labor (as they usually do when using traditional services to deliver faster results) and requires a smaller workspace.
For the customer, the expenses for the dentist result in a reduction in service fees; thus, the patients pay less for the dentist’s services.
Beautiful Gift
3D printing can be regarded as a beautiful gift to medical science, especially as it concerns the Dentistry field. This article has discussed some of these benefits and their impacts in the field.