3D printing changes everything
CAD/CAM. CBCT. Same-day implants. These are just some of the disruptive innovations that have revolutionised dentistry in the past few decades. In the 2020s, 3D printing is promising to be the next game changer.
Dr Henriette Lerner should know. In March 2020, Dr Lerner acquired the Planmeca Creo® C5 3D printer for HL-Dentclinic & Academy, a dental clinic as well as academic teaching and research institution in Baden-Baden, Germany. Since then, she says the 3D printer has changed the entire dental workflow at the clinic.
Dr Lerner is a general practitioner specialised in oral surgery, implantology and digital dentistry. After graduating from the University of Medicine Timișoara in Romania, she moved to Germany, where she founded her first private clinic in Bruchsal. Today, she runs HL-Dentclinic & Academy in Baden-Baden, where she offers high-quality services and education in periodontics, endodontics, implantology and oral surgery together with a capable team of 20 people.
“Actually, I think I chose dentistry because of ‘the family bug’,” Dr Lerner explains. “Both my parents worked in the medical field, and healing people became a kind of legacy at home. So that was probably the reason why I chose another branch of medicine as my profession.”
Dentistry shaken to its core
After more than 30 years in the industry, it goes without saying that dentistry has changed dramatically since Dr Lerner’s first day as a licensed practitioner. Since the early 1990s, dentistry has been shaken to its core by one technological revelation after another – and Dr Lerner has been sure to keep up with it all.
“The first intraoral scanners I tried didn’t give me any information, any registration of the bite,” Dr Lerner recalls, “but every year I made sure to check out the new technology and see how it could be implemented. Now we have things like guided surgery, which has really become its own profession in a way, and we’re working with all this new digital technology.”
It comes as no surprise, then, that Dr Lerner has been, among other things, the President of Digital Dentistry Society (DDS) International, which she led successfully between 2017 and 2018. “They share the same mission in spreading research and education on digital dentistry.”
“I actually regret that I don’t live in the future, because I think the future will bring even more than what we have now.”
Dr Henriette Lerner thrives in a digital dental world.
Three reasons to choose 3D printing
According to Dr Lerner, there are three key reasons why she chose to add 3D printing to her clinic. “Firstly, printing models was a natural progression from digital impressions. The second reason is, of course, the improved efficiency and efficacy in my own lab, when we don’t have to outsource the digital data but can print it with a high-precision chairside printer.”
“The last reason is that I no longer want to handle plaster casts at my clinic. Compared to gypsum models, the printing procedure is much more hygienic and accurate, and the models are easy to disinfect, when needed. I’ve really been dreaming of this kind of technology for a long time.”
“Everything is calibrated and precise”
Today, Dr Lerner’s clinic is equipped with the Planmeca Creo C5 3D printer, which the team uses to print dental models and surgical guides. According to Dr Lerner, she ended up choosing Planmeca after careful consideration of the available technologies.
“For me, Planmeca is a leader, and a leader in digital technologies in a very unique way,” Dr Lerner says. “They have been able to combine 50 years of tradition with a vision for the future, which is very rare. It’s a symbiosis which makes the company very, very special.”
“Any clinician should always look for technologies which offer high precision, high speed and high accuracy. Planmeca Creo C5 offers all of those things. It’s fast and easy to use – and not just the hardware, but the software, the resin handling… Everything is calibrated and precise.”
Additionally, 3D printing has brought a lot of new capabilities to the clinic. “The efficiency in the lab has definitely improved and the whole workflow as well. Also, considering that we now make everything in-house with the chairside 3D printer, it is a time saver which makes treatments faster.”
“Since we started printing in-office, everything has changed.”
Copy: Aleksandra Nyholm
Images: Planmeca, Sonia Bell
Planmeca Oy and Planmeca Group
Planmeca Oy is one of the world's leading dental equipment manufacturers, with a product range covering digital dental units, CAD/CAM solutions, world-class 2D and 3D imaging devices and comprehensive software solutions. Privately owned and headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the company offers a portfolio of products distributed in over 120 countries worldwide. Planmeca Oy is part of the Finnish Planmeca Group, which consists of several healthcare technology brands, each committed to innovation and design. With 4,500 employees worldwide, Planmeca Group companies achieved a combined turnover of EUR 1.1 billion in 2020.
www.planmeca.com
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