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Direct 3D printing aligners - past, present and future possibilities

British Dental Journal volume 236, pages 401–405 (2024)Cite this article

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to introduce the general dentist to recent advances in 3D printing technology used in orthodontics. 3D printing is a highly evolving area of dentistry with continual developments. New advances now allow the in-house delivery of printed aligners. Advocates of this new technology suggest the benefits of more prescriptive and controlled tooth movement in comparison to conventional thermoformed appliances. However, there is currently limited evidence on the efficiency of this material and more research needs to be carried out to validate this new technology.

Key points

  • The current trend is the replacement of analogue dentistry with digital and 3D printing technologies, which offer many advantages, such as reduced costs, greater treatment customisation and improved treatment outcomes.

  • 3D printing aligners allows for control over material thickness, potentially providing increased precision in tooth movement, both in anchorage control and staging of tooth movements. This may overcome some of the limitations with using current thermoformed aligners.

  • Graphy is currently the leading company in the world that manufactures resin specifically for 3D printing clear aligners.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Ross Philips at SprintRay Europe GmbH and Graphy Inc for providing images.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. General Dentist, Cambridge, England, UK

    Jack Slaymaker

  2. Specialist Orthodontist, Milton Keynes, England, UK

    Sunil Hirani

  3. Orthodontic Registrar, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    Julian Woolley

Authors
  1. Jack Slaymaker
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  2. Sunil Hirani
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  3. Julian Woolley
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Contributions

Jack Slaymaker was responsible for the conceptualisation of the paper topic. Jack Slaymaker, Sunil Hirani and Julian Woolley were all involved in writing the original draft, editing and reviewing the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jack Slaymaker.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Slaymaker, J., Hirani, S. & Woolley, J. Direct 3D printing aligners - past, present and future possibilities. Br Dent J 236, 401–405 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-024-7126-0

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