Advances in 3D printing continue to astound as the technology leaps forward. A recent FDA decision moves the puck way down the ice in its clearance of Desktop Health‘s 3D printed dental prosthetics. We’ve written about Virginia Tech’s work with integrating electronics in 3D printed prosthetic wrists and hands. Florida non-profit Limbitless Solutions creates personalized prosthetic arms with superhero motifs. Desktop Health is moving right along following last month’s FDA 510(k) clearance of Flexcera Base, expecting to launch commercially this month in the U.S. and Canada.
According to Desktop Health President and CEO Michael Jafar, earlier attempts at 3D printing dental prosthetics failed due to two factors: brittleness and poor aesthetics. Desktop Health’s solution consists of two products — Flexcera Base and Flexcera Smile — that Jafar claims surmount both challenges. Flexcera Base is an FDA Cleared Class 2 medical device now approved for market in fabricated denture bases. Fexcera Smile is an FDA Class 1 medical device that 3D prints denture teeth. Desktop Health employs EnvisionTEC 3D printers to create the base and the teeth using company’s exclusively formulated resins.
Flexcera dental prosthetics are three times more fracture-resistant than earlier products, according Desktop Health. The company also claims its prosthetic teeth are twice as resistant to stains as competitors’ products.
Desktop Health’s Flexcera solutions are not intended for 3D printing in homes. The products will be marketed to healthcare providers. We don’t suggest that you will be able to print your own dentures in your den anytime soon, but significant advances in 3D printing may speed that day. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that scoffers derided the possibility of clinical grade biometrics with home devices. In any case, this advance could help make individualized dentures available much faster and at lower cost.
