3D Printers and Medicine: a Perfect Match

Everyone is different. That is the one painfully obvious fact that undermines a great deal of medical care in this nation without ever quite rising to the level of consciousness. Procedures that work flawlessly on some patients can fail others, and often doctors cannot predict why with any success.

3D printing upsets this paradigm in some important ways. Until very recently, all medical devices and prosthetics were mass produced, or close to it. Even purpose-built devices were crudely tuned to individuals at best; generally just a few changes (one of four sizes, e.g.) were available at a time. With 3D printing, entire devices can be created to match the exact individual anatomy of each patient.

This is revolutionizing medical technology in several ways. Dental implantology is one of the earliest adopters:

That the healthcare industry has so swiftly adopted additive manufacturing should be no surprise. People come in all shapes and sizes, so the ability of a 3D printer to offer customised production is a boon. The machines run on computer-aided design (CAD) software, which instructs a printer to build up objects from successive layers of material; a medical scan in effect functions as your CAD file. And software is faster and cheaper to change than tools used in a traditional factory, which is designed to churn out identical products.

At Scan Implant Guide, we walk you through the process of scanning, manufacture, and surgery with ease. Our custom-printed dental surgical guides lead the industry for safety and precision, and our intuitive software environment makes planning and execution a breeze.

Want to get started with perfect products for your dental implant practice? Contact SI Guide today.