Desktop Health’s Dental Resin Flexcera Acquires FDA Clearance

Desktop Health, Desktop Metal’s new healthcare business, announced last week that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its proprietary resin designed for use in 3D printed dental prosthetics. Though the 3D printing dental industry has been growing rapidly in recent years, notably in the realm of protheses and molds, it has not been without controversy. Just a few months ago, research from Northwestern University suggested that many supposedly biocomptaible resins, notably 3D printing resins, could be harmful to the female reproductive tract. By earning clearance for the Flexcera Smile and Flexcera Base, medical devices made using their proprietary dental resin, Desktop Health has shown that the ever-growing AM dental industry is still advancing despite setbacks.

Desktop Metal is known as the name suggests for its metal desktop 3D printing, with the stated goal of making metal and carbon 3D printing more accessible to manufacturers and engineers. But clearly metal and carbon fiber are not the only materials used by the company. At the beginning of the year they moved into the resin market with their acquisition of EnvisionTEC. Desktop Health itself was launched earlier this year as a business line focused on accelerating AM solutions in dental, orthodontic and otolaryngology applications.

Desktop Health was launched to advance AM dental and orthodontic solutions. (Photo Credits: Desktop Health)

About Flexcera

The global denture market alone is estimated to reach $3.8 billion USD by 2027 in the U.S. and according to the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, 60% of adults have lost at least one permanent tooth. It is perhaps no surprise to hear then that the US dental 3D printer market is also expected to reach $144 million in 2027, signifying that it is likely that 3D printing will be used more and more to keep up with the ever-increasing demand. Not only that, but 3D printing is uniquely suited to the task, its ability to create forms that are perfectly customizable to the patient at a lesser cost is ideal for prosthetics, especially those designed to fit in your mouth.