A German company is using a laser-based manufacturing technique to create dentures at half the cost of conventional milled dentures.
Most dental restorations use conventional techniques, such as mould-based casting or milling from the complete workpiece. These manufacturing methods have weaknesses in terms of quality and take time, and they cost approximately $26 for a milled unit, according to Laufer Zahntechnik.
But with its laser-fusing process, Laufer Zahntechnik claims it can offer the same denture unit for $13.
With fully automatic generative fabrication, on average 80 units are fabricated simultaneously on one build plate per day, according to the company. The labor costs can also be reduced significantly: Instead of employing six to seven dental technicians for conventional cast fabrication, the company said four employees are required to produce the same quantity of product using the generative metal laser melting process.
The fully automatic fabrication also enables dental practitioners to take an impression of the patient in the morning and send it to the laboratory for overnight processing. The next morning the denture parts are subjected to a heat treatment at Laufer and detached from the build plate. After certain finishing and veneer processes, dentists can insert the dentures into the mouths of their patients in the space of two days, according to the company.
