The
dental laboratory industry is experiencing consolidation with the
disruptive technology of 3D printing enabling the rapid prototyping and
fabrication of the highly customized parts their business creates for
customers. As the 3D printing of ceramics, metals, and other materials
enters into wider use, dental labs will find themselves innovating and
consolidating to streamline and increase the speed of operations while
lowering costs. These sorts of innovation activities may qualify for
federal and state R&D tax credits.
The Research
& Development Tax Credit
Enacted in 1981, the federal Research and
Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13% of
eligible spending for new and improved products and processes.
Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:
New or improved
products, processes, or software
Technological
in nature
Elimination
of Uncertainty
Process of experimentation
Eligible costs include employee wages, cost of
supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses, and costs
associated with developing a patent.On December 18,
2015, President Obama signed the bill making the R&D Tax Credit
permanent. Beginning in 2016, the R&D credit can be used to offset
Alternative Minimum tax and startup businesses can utilize the credit
against payroll taxes.
3D Printing Transforming Dental Lab
Operations
3D printing is an additive manufacturing process
that leverages computer technologies and layer-by-layer fabrication to
create customized, complex, and wasteless objects and parts. 3D
printers are capable of printing parts in a variety of materials,
including metals and ceramics. The ability to scan and completely
customize the shape and features of the part reduces the design, build,
and revision time of creating a part, which in turn creates costly
savings.
The
features of 3D printing lend themselves to the highly customized world
of dental labs that create dental implants for people. Under
traditional circumstances, the process of taking an impression of a
tooth, casting the impression, and sending it to a lab to be worked
through the process into an implant may take weeks. Leveraging 3D
printing and scanning, a scan of a patient's teeth may be taken, sent
electronically to a lab to have an implant quickly designed and
fabricated, and sent back to a dentist or oral surgeon for
implantation.
Considering the change in workflow and production pipeline, the dental
lab will have to innovate to remain competitive. The initial cost of
investment for a dental laboratory today would typically be $200,000,
which is over 10 times more than the cost in 1990. The economic factors
involved with the increased costs of investment and operation
contribute to an ongoing contraction and consolidation of the industry
in the last two years.
Technological Advancements Drawing In
Dental Labs
The technological advancements in fields like
CAD/CAM and additive manufacturing are not just driving the
transformation of dental laboratories by themselves. Dentists and oral
surgeons are also taking up these technologies in their local practices
and will naturally pull the dental laboratory towards implementing
these technologies into their operations by purchasing the equipment
and changing their operations to support new demands in quality and
speed.
Solutions in Dental 3D Printing and
Scanning
There are several 3D printing and manufacturing
players with a host of different scales for dental practices that wish
to fabricate parts using 3D printing and scanning, as well as choices
in driving software for 3D scanning, design, and prototyping. CAD/CAM
software packages need to be unique in employing models and techniques
within dentistry. Generating planes, curves, and implementing
mechanical motion and limitations must be understood to create and
place teeth or dental appliances inside a jaw.
Dental Lab 3D Printers
StrataSys - Eden Prairie, MN
StrataSys is a leading
manufacturer and provider of 3D printers. The dental 3D printers that
StrataSys provides include:
CrownWorx
FrameWorx
Object30 OrthoDes
Object260 Dental Selection
Object Eden260VS Dental Advantage
Object
Eden350V for Dental
Object
Eden500V for Dental
These 3D printers can accurately print
surgical guides, veneer try-ins, crown & bridge models, models for
clear aligners, implant models and a wide range of various orthodontic
appliances using 3D data directly from intraoral scans and CAD designs.
Depending upon the needs of the laboratory
for services offered, StrataSys 3D printers have the capabilities to
jet multiple materials from one printer, including medically approved
transparent material for temporary in-mouth placement. Additionally,
printing solutions from StrataSys bring triple-jetting technology to
dental and orthodontics, for printing multiple materials at one time or
implant models that mimic real gum-like textures for accurate
evaluation. This impressive feature provides users the ability to
create gum-like softness and color with complete control.
3D Systems - Rock Hill, SC 3D Systems is another leading figure in 3D printing
that manufactures their own lines of 3D printers. 3D Systems provides
the following 3D printers for dental care applications:
ProJet® 3510 DP Professional
ProJet® 3510 MP Professional
ProJet® 6000 & 7000 Professional
iPro™
8000 MP SLA Center
Sinterstation® Pro DM125 SLM System
Dental Lab CAD/CAM Systems Sirona
Dental
Systems, Inc. – Long Island City, NY
Sirona Dental Systems sells
complete dental imaging systems that can create 3D markups of a
patient's jaw and teeth. Among these is SICAT Air - an imaging system
that allows for imaging and analysis of the upper airway and planning
of dental appliances as they will exist in the patient's jaw. It
combines the patient's 3D x-ray and optical surface data to create
digital workflows.
3M ESPE – St. Paul, MN 3M also has a digital
scanner that creates a digital workflow for dentists and dental labs.
The 3M True Definition Scanner quickly and easily captures a 3D replica
of oral anatomy and saves it as an industry-standard STL file. This
format allows easy portability to different platforms, including 3M's
other products for dentists and dental labs.
KaVo Dental – Charlotte, NC
KaVo provides the ARCUSdigma, a3D ultrasonic navigator for diagnosis and
therapy. The measuring device fits onto the subject's lower jaw with a
design that doesn't create complications with measurement or restrict
motion of the jaw. The device then takes an ultrasonic survey of the
jaw's movement for diagnosis via Functional Analysis and therapy.
Nobel Biocare – Zurich-Flughafen,
Switzerland
Nobel Biocare has its own digital
scanning system, the NobelProcera dental CAD/CAM system. This system
helps dental labs scan, design, and produce dental restoration products
in a streamlined workflow. The device scans models and molds of
different sizes and complexity to quickly digitize them for design.
This machine reduces the time in designing and prototyping by avoiding
remakes and redesigns.
Planmeca, E4D Technologies –
Richardson, TX
Planmeca and E4D technologies
created a same-day dentistry solution with the PlanScan CAM/CAM
restoration system. Requiring no impressions or powders, the PlanScan
delivers easy, same day, and on-site scanning. PlanScan features
CAD/CAM design and milling of a restoration like a crown, inlay, onlay,
bridges, and veneers. A general dental practice could use this tool to
easily expand its services with only the investment and small training
that this piece of equipment requires.
B&D Dental Corporation – West
Valley City, UT
B&D Dental Corporation is the
maker of ORIGIN, a line of dental scanners, CAD/CAM systems, and
milling machines. ORIGIN machines provide a range of digital workflow
functions that provide savings in costs and time. B&D's ORIGIN
Dental Scanner, milling machine, and duoTron sintering machine can work
with different materials to create dental restorations.
3Shape – Copenhagen, Denmark 3Shape makes 3D scanning
and CAD/CAM systems. Some of its scanners, such as the TRIOS 3
inter-oral scanner, are handheld and integrate with software to produce
scans and designs for milling centers. Others, like the D2000, are
larger, which allows for highly accurate, fast, and colorized scanning
of lab models. 3Shape's CAD/CAM systems can provide indications across
several types of dental appliances. 3Shape's products are designed to
be expandable, future-proof, and with strong levels of integration and
support for a wide ecosystem of 3D printers and dental systems.
Conclusion
The ongoing
disruption of the dental industry is closely linked with that of
manufacturers in healthcare and medical devices. In order to meet the
new demands of speed and quality, research and development processes
will be required to create innovative, improved technologies and
processes to succeed. These research and development activities may
qualify for federal and state R&D tax credits.
