EOS flashes new dentures

11 Mar 2015

Additive manufacturing creates removable partial dentures with optimized fit, reproducible quality of parts and an economic production model.

EOS, a developer of high-end laser additive manufacturing solutions is this week presenting new AM-produced removable partial dentures at the International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany, running until 14 March.

"Compared to the conventional approaches for producing removable partial dentures, a dental laboratory can now achieve certain competitive advantages with additive manufacturing,” says Martin Bullemer, Business Development Manager Medical at EOS.

"Digitally manufactured removable partial dentures have been tested with pilot customers. The feedback has been positive, encouraging us to develop and optimize this application."

Michaela Flussfisch, Managing Director of longstanding dental technology manufacturer Flussfisch GmbH in Hamburg, said, "During the pilot phase we have produced removable partial dentures based on the Direct Metal Laser Sintering technology from EOS. Such dental prostheses have consistent tolerances and reproducible properties, allowing a good fit and a consistent quality.”

If patients are missing several teeth, a removable dental prosthesis is one of the cheapest solutions. However, the manufacture of such a dental prosthesis by conventional means is laborious and time-consuming, requiring: the preparation of the cast, wax modeling, casting and finishing.

But if the prosthesis is produced digitally using EOS’s Additive Manufacturing technique, a significant amount of time can be saved: the prosthesis can be designed with just a few mouse clicks. This leads to high-strength, rigid and at the same time filigree (delicate jewellery-style) geometries, while minimizing casting errors.

EOS system

The digital manufacturing of removable partial dentures is performed by the EOSINT M 270 Dental metal 3D LAM system, which the company says is becoming established in this market. The CE-certified substrate material is EOS CobaltChrome RPD, the properties of which have been matched to the dental application.

During the additive manufacturing process, the fine powder particles ensure a fine-grain structure so that the digitally produced dental prosthesis has a much higher strength and fatigue resistance than a casting. EOS adds that the risk of a clamp breakage is reduced compared to a conventional model cast. Finished products comply with relevant standards EN 1641 and EN ISO 22674.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing eitor to optics.org.