DHA's dental department begins training staff in 3D printing technology.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 21, 2017:  The Dubai Health Authority’s dental department is all set to begin using 3D printed technology to print 3D model of teeth for producing prosthesis for its patients.

The use of this technology is the beginning of the Authority’s ambitious plans to use 3D printing in all fields of healthcare. 

The DHA’s dental department has already procured all the necessary equipment and is now conducting training sessions for its staff members so that they can begin incorporating this technology. 

Dr Hamda Mesmar, Director of Dental Services Department at the DHA, said: “Using this technology, a dentist will simply scan the teeth using an intra-oral scanner, which will create a digital impression (image).This image is then sent across to the 3D printing machine through the intranet from different Dental Clinics within DHA, which then replicates the image as a 3D model.  The 3D image helps us with accurate planning and precision especially for complicated dental procedures and surgeries. Patients will greatly benefit from the use of this technology as it helps in better patient outcomes as well as substantially reduces waiting time and cost of care. The department has received several intra-oral scanners, which will be used at the various dental clinics in the Primary Health Care Centers. 

She added that in comparison, the conventional method involves the dentist taking an impression of the mouth using various materials. Then, the impression is poured in stone to produce a model. The conventional method is a longer process. Creating a single model using a conventional method takes approximately, 40 minutes (not including the stone setting time, which will total to 1.5 hours) and the accuracy cannot be compared with that of a 3D model. (See table below)
Other major advantages of the 3D technology in dentistry as compared to the conventional include accuracy and a better infection control approach on taking a dental impression. Also, the image can be recalled anytime for “reprinting” if needed and thus minimizing resources and time”