Let us know about 3D printing technology applications in the medical and dentistry industry.

From prosthetics to drug formulation, the 3D printing technology would go far and beyond. To use it, you need materials, e.g., metals, ceramics, polymers, or biodegradables. The medical and dentistry field has reaped a lot of benefits from this technology. Especially on how it can create complex products while being cheap and highly customizable. Here are some examples of applications of 3D printing in the medical and dentistry industry.

Tissue engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Creating functional tissues and organs for implantation are the ones 3D printing is most focused on. Tissue-engineered scaffolds are the most essential here. They provide structural support for cells to attach, migrate, proliferate, and many more. The first commercialized tissue engineering scaffolds are DMLS truss implants. They are made to accelerate bone healing. 

3D printing in the tissue engineering field is an ever-growing technology. In the future, doctors can create 3D printed from the patient’s own stem cells combined with growth factors and construct them on a biodegradable polymeric scaffold. Also, filling lumpectomy voids of breast cancer survivors is possible through regenerated tissues in the future.

Engineered Tissue Models

Thanks to 3D printing, the time for surgery has significantly reduced. A model of a surgical object can be printed. Surgeons can use them as a rehearsal before the operation. This can help them do the surgery to do the procedure the correct way when operating the patient.

Medical Devices

96% of hearing aids are made by 3D printing. They are made from liquid resin. Other medical devices have also been made by 3D printing, such as surgical instruments, personalized casts, implants, and orthoses & prostheses. 3D printing has another compelling quality. It can be used in remote areas. The militaries and even long-duration space missions will benefit significantly from this.

Drug Formulation

Drug products you usually consume are a dosage form consisting of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and its excipients. The most common dosage forms are taken orally, such as pills and liquids. Some of them are designed in a convoluted way. 3D printing provides the ability to create complex objects that are useful in these drug designs.

2015 was the year when the FDA approved the very first 3D printed medicine. It was an oral levetiracetam drug for treating seizures. It is designed to have superior disintegration characteristics. 3D printing has also helped in making personalized medication possible because of its ability for accurate dose distribution.

Dentistry

3D printing has specific qualities that would be very useful in dentistry. These printers can create accurate and reproducible sophisticated components in mass production. The dentistry field has used them since the late 1990s through printed wax molds. Nowadays, they use photopolymerization and powder-based printing 3D printing techniques. They use it to create restorations (e.g., crowns, bridges, veneers, partial denture frameworks/denture base), physical models, surgical guides/implants, and orthodontic aligners/retainers.

Conclusion

3D printing is a captivating novel technology. Because of its high customizability, it can create patient-specific products. We will see a future where 3D printing is inseparable from the healthcare industry.

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