Carbon recently partnered with Dentca and Dreve to make 3D printed dentures and gingiva masks and trays.
The collaboration will allow the production of customized 3D printed dental products on Carbon printers using materials from Dentca and Dreve.
“While 3D printing is not new to the dental market, Carbon provides a complete solution with a very unique partnership approach, enabling dental labs to easily design and manufacture customized, high-quality products for their customers,” Brian Ganey, general manager of Carbon’s oral care business, said in a press release. “Carbon is transforming manufacturing in the dental industry with robust and reliable 3D printers, a wide range of industrial-grade dental materials, and next-gen software that enables all these pieces to work together seamlessly. But we don’t stop there: Carbon also provides continuous one-to-one service and support, meaning we engage closely with each of our dental customers to understand their individual requirements and develop new production-quality materials, so the range of materials will continue to grow. We’re there at every step of the process.”
Carbon currently uses an alternative to traditional 3D printing that involves fusing light and oxygen to rapidly make products from resin. Parts literally rise out of a pool of resin before the eyes.
The process, called Digital Light Synthesis (DLS), uses 3D printers and programmable and biocompatible liquid resins to reduce the timeframe from design to manufacture while improving efficiency and accuracy. It also allows for better part traceability and serialization through software design tools.
The products that Carbon creates are digitally traceable from a unique ID that is automatically engraved or embossed on parts. The unique ID can identify the digital historical record of the part, including the specific printer, resin and post-processing protocols that were used to make the part.
The Dentca partnership gives Carbon access to the first FDA-cleared materials for 3D-printed dentures. The two materials, Denture Base II and Denture Teeth, can be used with Carbon printers and produce high-quality, digitally-manufactured dentures that dental technicians can easily manufacture.
Dreve will also supply two new dental materials in the partnership. The FotoDent gingiva and FotoDent tray materials can also be used with Carbon printers to allow dental and orthodontic laboratories to rapidly manufacture 3D gingiva masks and dental impression trays.
The Dentca and Dreve materials are scheduled to be available by the end of March.
