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MEDIUMClinicalTier 2

What It Actually Takes to Run an In-Office 3D Printing Lab

SourceOrthodontic ProductsTier 2Clinical & Visual

By Alison Werner

Originally at orthodonticproductsonline.com

Summary & scoring by The Bell Brief (Dr. Jennifer Bell) using the Drill-Down Protocol (Drill-Down Score) — not the original publisher.

Why it matters for dental

Orthodontic practices that run in-office 3D-printing labs see success hinge on workflow, staffing, and production systems rather than printer hardware alone; owners and staff who manage retainers, aligners, and trays can use these operational lessons to decide what stays in-house versus outsourced.

Key points

  1. 01Tarek Elshebiny, DDS, MSD, advises starting with simple retainer-model printing and moving to indirect bonding trays only after the first step is mastered.
  2. 02Bryan Lockhart, DDS, produces direct-print aligners and retainer models in his Charlotte, North Carolina, office on four printers for cases of roughly 20 aligners or fewer.
  3. 03An unpublished 2024 Case Western study found in-house aligner production stops being cost-effective at around 45 sets.
  4. 04Lisa Alvetro, DDS, MSD, designates one staff member to own the lab and cross-trains every clinical assistant so production continues when the lead is absent.

Who should care

OwnerAssociateSpecialist

Read the original on Orthodontic Products

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