If you’re a dentist, orthodontist or just a mouth aficionado with an accompanying interest in 3D printing, then you’ll want to sit down in your dental chair for this: Stratasys has teamed up with 3Shape to integrate 3D printing into the 3Shape Implant Studio software, used for dental implant planning and surgical guides.
3Shape Implant Studio allows dental professionals to use CBCT scans of patients to prepare implants, prosthetics and guides for surgery. The latest release of the software includes pre-settings for sending digital models to Stratasys’ brand of Objet30 OrthoDesk and Objet Eden 3D printers. This new partnership makes a good deal of sense, as Objet’s line of dental 3D printers have been recognized for their application in the field of dentistry, receiving the Dental Advisor 2013 Top Innovative Equipment Award, as well as the Dental Labs Products 2011 Readers Choice Award. Avi Cohen, Director of Global Dental at Stratasys, expressed how the new software will aid in the technological progress of the dental industry:
We are very pleased that our dental lab customers now have access to complementary solutions from the 3Shape Implant Studio(TM) Implant Planning and Guided Surgery System. The two companies have collaborated to produce highly accurate surgical guides while refining additional 3D printing solutions, towards the accelerated implementation of the digital dental highway for dental labs worldwide, bringing mass customization to small and mid-sized labs.
I’m not a dentist. I don’t even like mouths. If I could, I’d completely get rid of mine. That being said, if I were a dentist, this 3Shape stuff looks pretty neat, even for dental software. If you watch the video below (from 2013, so it doesn’t include the Objet integration), you’ll see what dentists can do with a detailed CBCT scan of a mouth, such as design custom implants, drill guides and crowns. With the new Stratasys integration, these designs can easily be 3D printed.
No amount of technological innovation, however, will ever make me okay with going to the dentist.
Source: Wall Street Journal
