When most people think about 3D printing, they picture hobbyists making plastic figurines or engineers prototyping parts. The dental application of the same technology is more interesting and a lot more relevant to your next appointment.

At Mint Hill Smiles we have multiple 3D printers in our office and we use them regularly to fabricate dental appliances in-house rather than sending work to an outside lab. This changes what your appointments look like in ways you should understand.

What we currently make with our printers

Clear aligners and the models they are made from are the most common use of our in-house printing capability. When a patient is in clear aligner treatment, we design each stage of the tooth movement digitally and print the models for each stage right here. The aligners are fabricated over those models in-house, which means we are not dependent on an outside company’s production schedule, shipping timeline, or quality standards. When you need a new set of trays, we produce them in our office. When a refinement is needed mid-treatment, we adjust the digital plan and print accordingly. The speed and flexibility this gives us is something patients in aligner treatment notice quickly.

Retainers are made the same way. After clear aligner treatment is complete, we scan the final tooth positions and print the retainer model in-house. The retainer fits the teeth precisely as they ended treatment rather than relying on an impression taken under less than ideal conditions.

Surgical guides for implant placement are another in-house production. After we complete our CBCT imaging and digital implant planning, the surgical guide, the custom-fitted device that directs the drill to the precise planned position during the procedure, is printed here. Having this capability in-house means there is no wait time between completing the digital plan and having the guide ready for the appointment.

Why in-house matters

Sending appliance work to an outside lab involves a turnaround time, a shipping window, and a quality control process that depends on another organization’s standards. None of that is bad on its own, we still send certain work out when the lab’s capabilities exceed what in-house production offers, but for the applications where in-house printing matches or exceeds outside lab quality, keeping the production internal gives us speed, control, and flexibility that directly benefits our patients.

For patients in aligner treatment, the most tangible benefit is faster refinements. In a traditional aligner workflow, requesting a mid-treatment adjustment means submitting a new scan to the aligner company, waiting for the revised trays to be manufactured and shipped, and putting treatment on hold in the meantime. In our workflow, we adjust the digital plan and print new trays here. Treatment continues with minimal interruption.

Where this technology is headed

3D printing in dentistry is advancing faster than most people realize. We are watching the development of printable materials for nightguards and dental restorations closely, and we expect that within the next few years we will be producing nightguards directly from our printers in-house rather than sending them to a lab.

The possibility of printing dental crowns and fillings directly is also moving from research into clinical reality. The materials being developed for direct-print restorations are reaching the strength and aesthetic standards required for clinical use, and practices with established in-house printing workflows will be positioned to add these capabilities as they mature.

We invested in our 3D printing setup not just for what it can do right now but for what it will be capable of in the years ahead. The infrastructure is in place. As the materials and the clinical standards evolve, our ability to serve patients in-house will grow with them.

What this means practically

Right now, if you are in clear aligner treatment at Mint Hill Smiles, your aligners are made here and refinements happen on our timeline, not a lab’s. If you are getting an implant, the surgical guide that makes the placement precise is produced in our office. If you finish aligner treatment, your retainer is made the same day from a scan of your final result.

In the coming years, we anticipate that the same in-house capability will extend to nightguards, and eventually to certain restorations. The goal has always been to be able to deliver what our patients need as quickly, precisely, and conveniently as possible. 3D printing is one of the most important tools moving us in that direction.

If you have questions about any of the technology we use or would like to schedule an appointment, call (704) 323-7577 or visit minthillsmiles.dentist. We are at 11300 Cresthill Drive, Suite 105, Mint Hill, NC 28227. We serve patients from Mint Hill, Matthews, Indian Trail, Stallings, Weddington, Midland, Albemarle, and southeast Charlotte, NC.