Wellspring Dental, a holistic dental practice, has expanded its services to include 3D printing of dental products. This is particularly useful for patients who are having mercury fillings removed. 

Wellspring founder and owner Dr. Shannon Thorsteinson, says that mercury fillings are usually pretty big, and that the underlying tooth is usually compromised to a significant degree. “You can do a filling, which is way too big and is really not the right choice for the tooth because the tooth would be at even a higher risk of breaking,” says Thorsteinson, “but that’s the less expensive option. To do a full crown is the more expensive option.

“Using the 3D printing technology, we can custom design the shape of what the tooth needs the same day,” she continues. While patients need to wait while the design and fabrication work is completed, they don't have to make a return trip to the office.

Thorsteinson pointed out another advantage. While CAD/CAM technology has been used to fabricate porcelain dental restorations since the 1980s, the limitation is that, usually, only one restoration can be made at a time. With 3D printing, smaller restorations, such as fillings, can be made more accurately, and multiple restorations can print at one time. 

“We like to give our patients options, and there are situations where certain techniques may be appropriate. In general, we now offer three levels of dental restorations—direct composite, which is the traditional style done by hand, 3D-printed restorations, and, of course, porcelain inlays/outlays and crowns as the third option,” says Thorsteinson.