In-house 3D printing takes on implant provisionals and aligners
A clinician with over five years of in-house production describes printing models, surgical guides, crowns, implant provisionals and shape-memory aligners, noting faster turnaround and less reliance on external labs.
Key Takeaways
- Printing provisionals in-house lets clinicians refine occlusion, jaw position and aesthetics chairside.
- Combine intra-oral scans with CBCT DICOM data in planning software before printing guides.
- Confirm that crown resins offer sufficient strength and fracture resistance under occlusal loading.
- Staining and glazing printed restorations afterwards improves their appearance.
- Shape-memory aligners deliver light continuous force for about two weeks at intra-oral temperature.