Ackuretta is about to release a new dental 3D printer, the DENTIQ.
The company has produced resin-based 3D printers focused on the lucrative dental industry since 2015, with their flagship device, the Freeshape 120, announced in 2019. Today they market three devices, also including the larger DLP-powered Diplo and the huge Ackuray 3D printer.
Hold on, make that four devices.
They just announced, or rather, pre-announced, a new device, the DENTIQ. It’s set to be formally announced on January 21st. Evidently the first few purchasers will also receive a free wash station with their DENTIQ.
We don’t yet know much about the device itself, but Ackuretta provided the following specifications:
- Auto Calibrated 3D Printer
- Up to 30% Faster Printing Speeds
- 100+ Pre-calibrated Materials
- Real Plug-and-play Printing
- Premium Ownership Experience
- Ideal for in-house use and same-day dentistry
Automation, speed, and plug and play are all excellent features, and virtually mandatory for any new product these days.
The ”100+ Pre-calibrated Materials” suggests that the device will have a form of print profile database that allows for near-instant optimal use of third party resins. This is a technique used by several FFF 3D printer manufacturers to make life easier for their clients, and it seems that Ackuretta is doing the same. My thought is that this should be a standard feature on every 3D printer.
What’s most interesting is the “in-house use and same-day dentistry”. In fact, Ackuretta also describes the DENTIQ as a “chairside” 3D printer.
Could it be that the DENTIQ is so fast it can literally produce dental appliances while the patient waits? That’s not something commonly done, as far as I can tell.
Most dental appliances are still made by a dental lab upon request from a dental practitioner. While the dental lab may use 3D printers, there are still days of turnaround for production and shipping of the completed appliance.
If a dentist could truly make useful appliances while a patient is waiting, then that could be a far more efficient method of handling work: a patient might have one visit instead of two. The savings in process might easily justify the purchase price for the DENTIQ.
However, dentists I’ve spoken to about this are somewhat skeptical. Many are highly focused on their dental work and are reluctant to change their long-term processes and simply don’t have the time to learn how to use a 3D printer.
That’s perhaps going to be the biggest barrier for Ackuretta in selling the DENTIQ; dental labs will understand it, but individual dentists may not and could require considerable persuasion, education and demonstrations.
But if Ackuretta can overcome this issue, they would be set to sell a massive number of units. There are plenty of dentists in the world, and all of them require production of dental appliances.
Via Ackuretta
