Digital dentistry has been “almost ready” for a long time. For years, labs invested in scanners, CAD software, and milling systems that promised speed and consistency, but often fell short when it came to aesthetics, repeatability, or scalability. Today, that gap is closing fast with 3D Systems’ 3D printing dental solutions. Advances in 3D printing hardware, materials, and software are enabling dental labs to move decisively toward rapidly 3D printed dentures and 3D printed RPDs as a true production solution—not an experiment.
Two dental labs, Evolution Dental Solutions in New York and GPS Digital RPD in Florida, illustrate how this shift is playing out in practice. Their experiences show how digital workflows are compressing timelines, improving fit and realism, and giving technicians new confidence in fully digital removable solutions.
Why Digital Dentures Have Reached a Turning Point
Digital dentistry has been evolving for more than 30 years, but many labs only began to see real traction around 2012. Early workflows focused on digitizing impressions and designs, while final production still relied heavily on traditional methods or subtractive milling.
Josh Jakson, Chief Case Designer at Evolution Dental Solutions, has seen that evolution firsthand. His team has been involved in digital denture development since the early days and has tested 3D printers for more than a decade.
“Creating dentures using 3D printing is the emerging new standard for the industry, away from milling technology,” Jakson explains. “But it took time for materials and printers to get to the point where the output didn’t just match milling, it exceeded it.”
That inflection point, for EDS, came with multi-material jetting technology designed specifically for dental applications.
According to Jakson, the NextDent® 300 MultiJet 3D printer and its latest NextDent materials, are the evolution he has been waiting for.
“It is important that we have a consistent output, every time,” he said. “The Nextdent 300 is delivering a 3D printing process that we can truly scale with.”
Freshly printed Jetted Dentures, fully encapsulated in wax awaiting wax removal.
Jetted Dentures post wax removal.
Jetted Dentures, fully cleaned, polished, and patient ready.
The 3D Printed Denture Workflow: Step by Step
At a high level, the process for 3D printed dentures starts with digital capture. A patient’s mouth is scanned directly, or a traditional impression is digitized. That data becomes the foundation for a fully digital CAD workflow.
From there:
- Digital Design
Technicians design the denture using specialized dental CAD software, defining tooth geometry, gingival contours, and occlusion digitally. Adjustments that once required manual wax-ups now happen on screen, with full traceability. - Multi-Material 3D Printing
With the NextDent® 300 MultiJet printer, both the teeth and gingiva are printed together as a single monolithic part. Different materials are jetted simultaneously—one for the tooth structure, another for the gum tissue—while a sacrificial wax supports complex geometries during printing. - Post-Processing and Finishing
After printing, the wax support is removed, and the denture is cleaned, polished, and finished. The result is a patient-ready prosthetic with realistic color transitions and surface detail.
With the NextDent 300, EDS now runs lights-out production, producing 20–30 dentures per day, with plans to expand capacity further.
Materials Matter More Than Ever
One of the historic barriers to adoption of digital dentures was material performance, especially color stability, cure quality, and long-term aesthetics. Jakson notes that this is where recent advances have made the biggest difference.
“They are cured 100% on the build plate, which is faster, and we are getting better results than ever before,” he explains. “The materials don’t discolor and the dentures exceed the benchmark standard.”
Equally important is what doesn’t happen. “We have had no failed builds so far and zero customer complaints,” Jakson adds. “That speaks volumes.”
Extending the Digital Workflow to 3D Printed RPDs
While full dentures are one piece of the puzzle, 3D printed RPDs—removable partial dentures—are seeing equally dramatic gains. GPS Digital RPD specializes in high-quality partial frameworks and flexible partial dentures, combining metal and polymer printing into a single, tightly integrated workflow.
The process begins similarly, with digital scan data uploaded through an online portal. From there, the GPS team creates a CAD model of the metal framework and the denture components, and prints them on the company’s two DMP Flex 200 metal 3D printers with dentures created on the NextDent® 300 MultiJet 3D printer.
Metal frameworks are produced using direct metal printing, while the denture base and teeth are produced on the same multi-material jetting platform used for full dentures.
“We are producing about 130 metal frameworks a day now,” says Josh Williams, General Manager at GPS Digital RPD. “Our two metal systems can keep up with that rate, whereas older machines could not. We do lights-out production, so the team has a whole new set of frames to work on every morning.”
Solving the Hard Cases in Partial Dentures
One of the most compelling advantages of 3D printed RPDs is the ability to handle anatomically challenging cases. Tight clearances, irregular geometries, and minimal available space are notoriously difficult to manage with manual techniques.
“There are a lot of patient cases that have very limited space or really awkward shapes,” Williams explains. “Handling these cases manually is almost impossible. But this printer makes it easy.”
The realism also stands out. “The two unique materials make incredibly realistic dentures,” he says. “The material colors are nearly perfect, and we have zero delamination.”
Software is the Glue That Holds It Together
Behind both workflows is software that connects design intent to physical output. Print preparation software manages nesting, shading, labeling, and job monitoring, reducing human error and simplifying downstream handling.
“The software makes all this absurdly easy,” Williams says. “The technician doesn’t have to look at 40 partial pieces and wonder where they go. Now the labels are added digitally and match the client reference.”
This level of digital traceability is especially valuable when metal frameworks and polymer dentures must be matched precisely before final assembly.
Faster Turnaround, Better Fit
The impact on lead times is hard to ignore. GPS Digital RPD can now deliver a finished RPD in as little as nine days, and often less.
“Previously, even with a digital workflow and older 3D printers, turnaround time was 15 working days easily,” Williams says. “This is a huge improvement, not only in production time but with visibly improved quality and fit.”
After a test fit in the patient’s mouth, the components return to the lab, are permanently affixed, and shipped back, closing a loop that once took weeks.
The Bigger Picture: A Mature Digital Dentistry Ecosystem From 3D Systems
Taken together, these stories point to a broader conclusion: 3D printed dentures and 3D printed RPDs from 3D Systems’ solutions are no longer niche technologies. They are becoming reliable, scalable production methods that dental labs can build their businesses around.
Jakson sums it up plainly: “I think this is the coming of age for digital dentistry.”
For labs under pressure to deliver faster, reduce remakes, and improve patient outcomes, that coming of age may be arriving right on time.
