How 3D Printing Is Changing Dentistry—The Veneers Case

We live in a decade of technological discoveries, and dentistry is no exception. Right now, 3D printing and oral scans are completely changing cosmetic and restorative dentistry, including veneers in our Coral Gables dental office.

Dentistry is a complex field. The mouth is tiny, and any work done must be precise to ensure the patient’s comfort and satisfaction. In this environment, 3D technologies and digital software allow for more detailed, accurate restorations, in addition to incorporating new materials or shortening workflows.

Let’s review some of them, how they work, and what we can expect in the future.

What Are Veneers?

First things first, let’s go over some details about dental veneers and their design process, which will be important later on. Dental veneers are thin, tooth-colored shells placed on top of a tooth to cover imperfections such as chips, stains, teeth gaps, misalignments, or missing parts.  

To do so, they’re permanently bonded to your teeth. Veneers are an easy, cost-effective way to improve your cosmetic appearance, so many patients choose to get between six to eight veneers to design an even, harmonious smile.

The normal process of getting dental veneers typically involves several steps:  

1. The first step in applying veneers is preparation. Because veneers have a certain thickness, dentists must prepare your teeth. They’ll remove a small amount of enamel to make room for the veneers. Some patients experience minimal discomfort during this procedure, thanks to local anesthesia or other sedation options. Additionally, you may experience sensitivity a few days after.

2. Then, your dentist will take an impression of your teeth to make veneers that are perfectly tailored to fit.

3. Once the custom veneers are ready, you’ll schedule a new appointment to bond them to the front of your teeth.

4. Your dentist makes sure your new veneers look and feel just right by filing and shaping them.

Dental veneers are a highly popular solution for many patients. They’re easy to design, cost-effective, and don’t take as much time as other dental restorations like crowns and tooth implants. However, there are three technologies that can make its process even better:

1. Intraoral 3D Scans

2. Digital Design Software

3. Veneer 3D Printing

Impressions for Veneers with Intraoral 3D Digital Scans

Intraoral scanners, or digital scanners, are an alternative to traditional, analog methods of making an impression. This conventional hands-on fabrication process relies on various tools and strategies to create a duplicate of your mouth.  

For example, in wax-ups, you needed to bite into a paste that would keep the shape and length of your smile. Then, the impression is sent to a professional lab that’ll develop your veneers. They’re often made of materials like porcelain or composite resin.

The problem with this method lies in three main factors:

• Time: After sending your impression to the lab, patients must wait until it’s finished to get their final smile. This could take a couple of weeks to a month.
• Accuracy: All the extra steps between making the impression and sending it to a lab can compromise the accuracy of the impression and affect the final design.
• Comfort: The number of tools used and steps needed can be troublesome for patients.

On the other hand, a 3D mouth scan takes footage of your mouth from the inside. This helps optimize a dental office’s workflow, improve hygiene practices, and provide patients with a better experience.

The Intraoral 3D Scan Process for Veneers

Nowadays, intraoral 3D scans are pen-like tools your dentist uses to take an image of your smile. The process just takes a few minutes, and this is what it looks like:

1. This handheld tool contains imaging sensors. When placed inside your mouth, a light is projected onto the area you wish to scan, capturing thousands of images.  

2. The scanning software processes those images to generate an accurate 3D surface model that shows a real view of your teeth, gums, and gingiva. The geometric model is created as the dentist scans, and you may be able to see it being generated in real-time on a PC screen.

3. Scanners also capture footage of the outside of your mouth. You’ll have to speak and smile so the cameras can capture your natural mouth and lip movement from various angles.  

4. Then a digital design software takes all this input and provides guidance to a dental professional who’ll design your new veneers, taking into consideration your teeth’s length, shape, color, and how you smile and talk.

Veneer CAD/CAM Imaging or Digital Design Software

Digital design software complements 3D scans. The name stands for “Computer-Aided Design” (CAD) and “Computer-Aided Manufacturing” (CAM). This system helps design, plan, and ultimately create accurate dental prosthodontics based on real scans of a patient’s mouth.  

With CAD/CAM, dentists can easily design dental crowns, bridges, veneers, onlays, inlays, dentures, and other implant-supported prostheses perfectly fabricated to fit you. Additionally, it enables patients to see their potential end-smile before even starting the process.

When it comes to veneers, digital design software helps create long-lasting shells that are natural looking and harmoniously match your entire mouth, from shape to thickness and color.  

Veneer’s Digital Design Software Process

The CAD/CAM process for making dental restorations can last between 45 minutes and a few hours. If your dentist is going to create your dental prostheses with CAD-CAM technology, here's what you can expect:  

1. Just like veneers, the first step is preparing your mouth, removing any decay, cavities or damage, and ensuring your teeth are ready for restoration.  

2. With an intraoral scanner, your dentist will create 3D images of your mouth.  

3. Using CAD software, your dental professional will use these images to plan and design the restoration. Depending on the number of restorations and their complexity, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour.  

4. Now, a special milling chamber is used to mill your veneer from a block of ceramic material. To achieve a realistic appearance that matches the rest of your teeth, the dentist will apply glazes and stains to your new veneer. Lastly, it’s fired in an oven.  

5. Following the firing, your dentist will polish the restoration flawlessly before placing it.

3D Printed Veneers

Some dental offices go a step further and use 3D technology to print your veneer from the CAD/CAM images. The software creates a document that’s sent to the 3D printer that carves the veneers layer by layer.

The material user is a small disc of zirconium—a tough, opaque material increasingly being used alongside porcelain. Then, a series of narrow drill-like cutters carve out the veneers. The goal of these blades is to recreate the grooves of a natural tooth’s surface.  

With 3D-printed veneers, patients can have custom-fit veneers that look natural and offer greater durability in no time.

Pros of 3D-Printed Veneers

• Speed: 3D printers can create the "impressions" and print out an exact model of your mouth in just minutes, a fraction of the time the traditional method takes.
• Accuracy: 3D-printed veneers are designed from a real 3D scan of your mouth, so they fit better and are more comfortable.  
• Durability: Many of these technologies are relatively new, so data regarding their durability can only be estimated. However, the materials used in 3D-printed veneers, zirconia or porcelain, are highly recognized for their strength in dentistry.

Cons of 3D-Printed Veneers

• Cost: Because 3D printing is generally considered a cosmetic treatment and is relatively new, it isn’t commonly covered by insurance.
• Materials: This technique is only compatible with veneers made from zirconia or porcelain, so composite veneers aren’t a possibility.
• Color problems: Studies have shown that 3D printing technology may fail to achieve color stability and aesthetics on curved surfaces.

A Case Study: Ultra-Thin Veneers?

This year, a 3D manufacturer called Boston Micro Fabrication made headlines by creating the world’s thinnest cosmetic dental veneer, the UltraThineer. According to BMF, traditional veneers are about 0.5 mm thick. On the other hand, ultra-thin veneers are a mere 100 µm thick – three times thinner than conventional veneers.

Due to the thickness of traditional veneers, dentists have to fill a patient’s tooth to make room for them. However, UltraThineers reduce the need for filling a tooth before placing it. This also makes the treatment reversible.

Moreover, these thin veneers are made from durable materials, like zirconia. Although they have yet to enter the U.S. market, this announcement is a valuable example of how 3D printing technology is changing dentistry.

Learn About Veneers in Coral Gables!

3D-printed veneers aren’t necessarily better than traditional methods. These techniques are very recent; some, like UltraThineers, were just announced this year. That means the dental professional’s job is to analyze the pros and cons and consider what it brings to each situation.

Here at Coral Gables Dentistry, we consider each patient unique. The goal is to offer various services so we can provide them with the individual, specific care they need.

If you want to learn more, give us a call!