Comment on Lab-grown teeth might become an alternative to fillings following research breakthrough
melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Has anyone with a 3d printer tried 3d dentures yet? Would that work?
Dental printers are a pretty standard way to make these things. There’s a whole regulatory process for testing and certifying the printers and their resins for continued contact with gums/skin/teeth for toxicity, infection, irritation, etc.
But there are still significant drawbacks to using dead synthetic stuff as a replacement for living tissue.
currently have a 3d printed crown in my mouth. they patched the original broken tooth as best they could. scanned my mouth and the tooth. and while they were root canaling my tooth was printing. after they were done, my crown was installed and I went about my day with some minor soreness for about a week.
I would imagine printed dentures to be similar.
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Nope. As far as extrusion printing goes: normal 3D printing filament is not food safe and the tiny stairstep layers would be perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and plaque impossible to properly clean. For resin printing: that shit’s toxic in liquid form, very bad idea to ingest, and dust from the hardened prints (like if you sand a nub down) when breathed in works like asbestos on your lungs.