Stratasys and Top Dental Labs Partner to Increase Production of 3D Printed Clear Aligner Molds

The allure of a perfect smile is only getting stronger; with the introduction of high definition, movie and TV stars found themselves confronted with their own less than perfect teeth and set out to remedy their Hollywood grins with whiteners, retainers, and veneers. That, in turn, has left the rest of looking at the big screen and comparing leading figures chompers with our own and coming up short.

Whether purely for aesthetics or to address functional dental needs, more and more people are wearing dental apparatuses to cajole their teeth into the desired form. And as that population is not just teenagers undergoing the silver bracket rite of passage, many would prefer to have less obvious dental gear. One piece of equipment regularly used is the aligner, which does exactly what its name suggests. The increase in demand, to the tune of slightly less than 18% annually,  has meant that companies need to re-examine their production methods in order to scale up their output. Darren Buddenmeyer, CEO of DynaFlex, described what his company was looking for:

“We’ve been in the clear aligner market for quite a while, but have only been able to produce in small quantities. We soon realized our team needed a faster printer, one that could produce on-demand and didn’t require high levels of expertise to operate.”

Increasingly, companies such as Missouri-based DynaFlex, and Ortoplus, based in Malaga, Spain, are looking to 3D printing to solve their scale problem. As such, they have found the perfect partner in Stratasys, which has provided the J700 as the high-speed production-grade printer of choice to help these companies meet their production goals. In addition to being pros at producing, the machines are simple enough that it is possible to easily integrate them into the companies’ existing workflow, with features such as GrabCAD Print, smart default settings, tips, and built in notifications. In addition, those using the machines can easily access views of detailed models and slice previews that allow them to make on the fly adjustments before they send the final model to print.

Stratasys regularly makes headlines with its successful efforts to support customers as they integrate 3D printers into their production processes and has a team dedicated to finding out how their printers can become the solutions that their customers need. As Michael Gaisford, Director of Marketing for Healthcare Solutions at Stratasys explained:

“At Stratasys, we’re committed to offering orthodontic and dental customers new opportunities to make the transition to digital dentistry, leveraging advanced 3D printing. The Stratasys J700 Dental makes it easier than ever to capitalize on new opportunities offered by large-scale, high-quality production of clear aligner molds. We firmly believe only Stratasys is capable of delivering the levels of quality, reliability, and performance that today’s dental market demands.”

 

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