International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) 2014
Creating a Digital Dentistry smile
Last month, Creatz3D saw close to 8,000 dental professionals from every aspect of the industry that got together in Suntec City Convention Hall, Singapore during April for IDEM Singapore 2014. We exhibited our 3D printing capabilities and demonstrated the trending practice of CAD/CAM dentistry. Creatz3D was amongst the many different proponents driving age old dentistry into a high technological savvy future. We were also graced by Mr Stephen Ong, the Dental Associate Director of our principal company, Stratasys, who was sharing in depth industrial future and business models.
New exciting terms like CAD/CAM, digital dentistry, intra-oral/ extra-oral scanning, dental simulation software, and 3D printing were used interchangeably during conversations with Dentists, Surgeons, Doctors, Hygienists and Technicians.
Traditional workflows are being streamlined by technological advancements and processes have never been thought to be so simple and efficient. The use of intra-oral scanners and 3D Printers for example, can drive the entire stone model crafting within a lab; Instead of bite impressions couriered to a lab for scanning, a well-equipped dentist can simply scan teeth directly with a 3D intra-oral scanner. This digitized scan is sent to our orthodontic 3D printing machine, which fabricates the data into a tangible replica from liquid resin, while the patient relaxes in the waiting room.
Watch this video from Stratasys to understand the various different other applications and implications that our 3D Printing solutions can benefit you:
While everyone seems to agree that “the future is now,” there was also some ambivalence and trepidation toward this trend shadowing over global dental labs. The downside question worrying some long term industry players is, whether the traditional, craftsmen-based prosthetics and restoration business will decline, or if the technological uptake will herald a boom in Asia’s developing economies?
Dr. Dobrina Mollova of the Centre for Advanced Professional Practices (CAPP) certainly does not think technology can replace skilled technicians, “The machines and technologies they use may change, but the need for experts to operate them will remain. So as long as technicians keep their skills and knowledge up to date, they will always be a vital part of the dental team.”
Success story:
Singapore-based dental clinic T32 incorporates Objet Eden260V streamlining its Digital Dentistry Workflow
According to the purveyors of the various digital dental technologies, their involvements have accelerated the response time for dentists. The technology is available to allow dentists to scan patients’ teeth and create crowns for patients while they wait. A process that traditionally took weeks can now be done in an hour or two.
Creatz3D’s customer success story, T32 Dental Centre, a leading Singapore-based dental clinic, improved the efficiency of their dental implant surgery, by incorporating our 3D printing solutions in its digital dentistry workflow,
T32 Dental Centre is a leading provider of dental services and a pioneer in digital dentistry in the Southeast Asia region. To speed up pre-surgical preparation and eliminate the outsourcing cost of surgical guide production, T32 has incorporated 3D printing in its digital dentistry workflow, selecting Objet Eden260V with PolyJet™ 3D printing technology to create accurate surgical guides for implant surgeries. Adoption of 3D printing technology has provided a quick return on investment for T32.
“Evaluation of treatment plans has become much faster and more precise. Customized surgical guides are 3D printed and placed onto the patient’s teeth before surgery, pinpointing the exact angle and depth needed for the procedure, ensuring correct placement of the implant,” said Keng Mun Wong, Founder and Managing Director from T32 Dental Centre. “Having an in-house 3D printer allows us to minimize the time needed to create the surgical guides. We can now 3D print the guides at the clinic within a few hours.”
Watch the interview here:
More information online at: http://t32dental.com
Objet Eden260V is an award-winning Stratasys 3D printing system using PolyJet™ 3D printing technology, offering a full suite of dental materials specifically engineered to meet the requirements of dental applications.
