SmarTech Report says dental 3D printing market flourished in 2017.
The dental 3D printing market is set to grow to 9.5 billion USD by 2027 according to the latest report from SmarTech Publishing.
The ten-year forecast says the total dental printing industry grew by over 35 percent year-over-year for the second year in a row during 2017 as a result of widespread increases in acceptance and adoption of 3D technologies within the sector.
SmarTech Publishing believes that over the next decade, both metal and resin based printing 3D printing technologies will become the leading production source for dental restorations, eventually covering full spectrum of accepted permanent dental restorations and prosthetics. This echoes a recent comment from EnvisionTEC CEO, Al Siblani, who believes the dental market will be the next wholesale industry to go fully digital with its production.
Formlabs 3D printed Dental LT Clear splints.
Whilst subtractive milling technologies still hold a majority share on the production volumes for permanent aesthetic dental restorations made in materials such as ceramics or dental composites, SmarTech says 3D printing is outpacing milling growth thanks to its ability to provide added-value for dental laboratory technicians, dentists, orthodontists, and oral surgeons.
Currently it is common for both these additive and subtractive systems to coexist as part of a digital workflow strategy but SmarTech Publishing believes that ultimately, resin-based 3D printing technologies pose a “severe threat” to milling technologies in the medium to long term.
SmartTech believes low-cost desktop resin-based systems will play a major role in increasing the presence of 3D printing in the dental market. SmarTech estimates that Formlabs, has increased its market share in the dental printing market more than 20-fold over the last two years with its Form 2 desktop machine and dental specific resins.
Metal additive manufacturing is also set to play an important role in the future of dental printing for direct-metal dental implant solutions. It estimates that by 2024 outsourced metal printing for dental implant systems will grow to exceed $1B in opportunity.
