Formlabs, a leading 3D printing company, announced Scan to Model, a new feature in its PreForm software, that converts intraoral scans into 3D printable models. Dental and orthodontic professionals can use Scan to Model as an entry point into digital workflows without having prior experience with digital dental design software. Creating diagnostic, formed appliance and fit check models is simple: users scan a patient’s teeth with a 3D intraoral scanner, upload the raw model into PreForm’s Scan to Model tool, and then print with a Formlabs Form 3B printer – the whole process completed in less than one hour.

While roughly 30% of orthodontists have an intraoral 3D scanner, only 4% have 3D printing capabilities at their practice. Formlabs Dental, first launched as a dedicated Business Unit in November 2019, aims to make flexible and patient-specific treatment protocols accessible to every dental professional.

Before Scan to Model, technicians that completed 3D scans of patients’ teeth using an intraoral scanner needed to be well-versed in complex dental CAD software, use open-source mesh editors not designed for the needs of dental professionals, or outsource this processing to a dental lab. Now, Scan to Model enables dentists to reduce:
● Effort required to turn a 3D intraoral scan into a simple printed model
● Overall turnaround time for models and retainers, enabling same-day delivery
● Number of software programs required to perform simple model preparation

Formlabs Dental
www.formlabs.com