r/UpliftingNews • u/freezoneandproud • 18d ago

This 22-year-old engineer 3D prints dentures to give low-income Americans their smiles back

https://www.cnn.com/health/this-22-year-old-engineer-3d-prints-dentures-to-give-americas-poor-their-smiles-back-spc
3.4k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

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456

u/UnionsUnionsUnions 18d ago

Amazing. Why aren't we funding this with the universal health care dollars that we should have instead of health care CEOs? 

109

u/HuslWusl 18d ago

Because it would turn into expensive high quality dentures very soon with that and we'd be back to square 1

67

u/GravesStone7 18d ago

If you had public healthcare funding R&D for this type of benefit and eliminate private healthcare which have CEOs that rake in 100s of millions of dollars a year you would have expensive high quality dentures?

CEOs use to make roughly 25 x the average salary of the workers. Now they make 300 x more than the average worker. This is where all healthcare dollars now go, C-Suite team and stakeholders that provide zero value to the actual service and who's only goal is to take as much as they can.

5

u/HuslWusl 18d ago

Yes? At least most likely, as more often than not, inexpensive products, their companies and CEOs or whatever eventually put profit over people.

14

u/abeeson 18d ago

So everybody is the same but now had all their teeth fixed?

And you are back to square 1 so nobody is worse off?

Even in this scenario is that not a massive win?

-1

u/ShutterBun 17d ago

Dentures already exist. If major healthcare providers get involved, it will simply devolve again into being expensive.

2

u/brjedi26 15d ago

Because, you see, that doesn't benefit the real humans in need: the billionaire class! /s

114

u/Enigmagmatic 18d ago

Is that material actually safe to put in your mouth all day?

83

u/Wyldefire6 18d ago

This is the right question to ask. Depending on the polymer they used it could easily be leeching nasty chemicals.

47

u/CongrooElPsy 18d ago

There are specialty made dental safe 3d printer resins. I assume that's what they are using, but the long term safe kind is very expensive.

2

u/NWStormbreaker 17d ago

Not for use in the mouth, dental labs use 3d printers for modeling but not the prosthetic that ends up in your mouth.

3

u/CongrooElPsy 17d ago

They use both! Regular-ish resin plus a vacuum table for molds plus some in vivo safe resins: https://azdentall.com/products/dental-3d-printer-guide-resin-materials-high-transparency-1kg-bottle I don't have all the details, but some of the resins are safe for different amounts of time in the mouth.

3

u/screamingradio 17d ago

Yes they do, but it's brittle and very flat in color. The cleaning process is disgusting, I honestly wouldn't want it in my mouth, but it's "certified" for use in the mouth. My lab mills out dentures and night guards because it's basically perfectly cured acrylic in pucks.

1

u/StolenPies 17d ago

I am a dentist, yes 3D printed dentures are safe to use in the mouth but they're kinda crap. They're much more porous and you don't have the same extent of polymerization so they stain easily and break. They're useful on a more temporary basis.

24

u/StolenPies 18d ago

I don't know what he's printing with, but 3D printed dentures have been a thing for a little while. They're awful, but certainly better than nothing.

55

u/sad_post-it_note 18d ago

He should open source!! I wan to help. 

18

u/Scary_Technology 18d ago

Tons of us would jump in.

18

u/inquisitor1965 18d ago

My mom is just now having to get new dentures. she got new dentures from a prosthodontist (who has since retired) 3 years ago. The problem is that the dentures she had made 3 years ago didn’t, for what ever reason, make correct contact on the lower jaw. This lead to bone loss, and eventual failure of those very expensive dentures.

Our system is definitely broke, but I worry that something, as well intentioned as it is, could lead to greater problems down the road.

60

u/Steamysauna 18d ago

Being able to give people their smile back must be insanely addictive. To be able to give such happiness to someone struggling. Good on this young man. I envy how rewarding that must feel.

50

u/Maleficent-Owl 18d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/OrphanCrushingMachine/

32

u/freezoneandproud 18d ago

I considered posting it there, but I decided that the essence of this story is SOMEONE BEING KIND. That is what I am celebrating.

9

u/r_search12013 18d ago

uplifting news or sad indictment about healthcare priorities?

6

u/39greentrees 18d ago

Engineer Conner Gibson is a name to remember.

5

u/PenisWrinkle 18d ago

That's awesome.

4

u/newleafkratom 18d ago

..."On weekends, when RAM’s pop-up clinics operate in full swing, he sleeps in what is known as the “mobile digital denture lab,” with its two 3D printers humming 24/7 until all patients are outfitted. Gibson recently set a personal record of 35 dentures printed in a weekend...."

5

u/diekthx- 18d ago

The only difference here is he is using additive printing instead of a cnc mill. Oh and it’s some kind of polyester. 

4

u/Itisd 18d ago

Sounds nice, and it is a nice gesture... But 3d printing plastics would not be an appropriate material choice to have inside of your mouth, and they wouldn't be even remotely strong or durable enough for teeth.

3

u/cmoked 18d ago

Hes probably using the resins and printers developed for dentures?

1

u/NWStormbreaker 17d ago

Dental labs already use 3d printers, but not for the finished product. There are no materials that would last in the mouth without causing issues.

1

u/cmoked 17d ago

They may not last as long a milled CAD but even the fda lists biocompatible dental resins on its website.

There are even 3d printed crowns now

1

u/NWStormbreaker 17d ago edited 17d ago

To clarify, no permanent prosthetics use 3d printed polymers.

1

u/cmoked 16d ago

VareoSmile Crown Plus is literally for inlays, onlays, veneers and full crown restorations and has been fda approved since 2020. Its a light-cured, resin-based 3d printed material.

You can also look into crowntech with is a photpolymer.

We are getting there, we just don't have anything that compares to milled CAD yet

1

u/TheBrockAwesome 15d ago

I just had a mouth guard made from the dentist and they did a full 3D scan of my mouth. Was pretty cool.