Stratasys, a polymer 3D printing solutions provider, has partnered with Express Dental Labs of Norman, Oklahoma, at the recent Oklahoma Dental Association Mission of Mercy (OkMOM) event to provide full and partial dentures to more than 55 people in need.
The OkMOM is a two-day event that provides free essential dental care to individuals who may otherwise lack access to such services. The event took place in Lawton, Oklahoma, and brought together dental professionals, volunteers, and organizations to address the oral health needs of underserved populations.
Each patient that received dentures had an inter-oral scan completed on the first day, which Express Dental Labs used to create the dentures with Stratasys’ J5 DentaJet 3D Printer and TrueDent resin. The dentures were printed overnight and delivered by participating dentists the following day – giving patients well-fitting, natural-looking dentures within 24 hours.
“It is awesome that we can do this for the community,” said Tra’ Chambers, Owner of Express Dental Labs. “Traditionally, dentures are labor intensive to manufacture, but when using Stratasys technology, we can serve many more patients in a shorter amount of time. The dentures we print are highly accurate, matching the patient’s gum and tooth color, so the dentures look great and fit well. Also, because the entire denture is printed as one piece and does not require any manual intervention, once the digital design is created, if the patient loses their dentures, a replacement can be created overnight with the digital record we have on file.”
This is the second year Express Dental Labs has used the Stratasys TrueDent solution. Last year, nearly 40 Oklahomans in need received new dentures as part of the OkMOM event.
“It is truly gratifying to witness the positive impact that our technology, and the expertise of Express Dental Labs, has on the lives of those in need, restoring their confidence and enhancing quality of life with better looking and fitting dentures,” said Ronen Lebi, Vice President of Dental at Stratasys. “We anticipate continued growth in the adoption of technologies like TrueDent. It increases efficiency and reduces turnaround time for labs, while lowering the number of visits and overall chair time for patients.”
TrueDent dentures are a full-color, single continuous print of both denture base and teeth. Stratasys technology enables multi-colored, personalized appliances to be printed simultaneously on a single high-capacity tray.
