Third-generation, family-owned dental laboratory expands operations with TrueDent solution
A dental lab in Long Beach, California, was among the first to introduce TrueDent, Stratasys’ new material for 3D printing dentures and temporary crowns and bridges. The lab, Posca Brothers, is led by Alex Posca, president, and AJ Posca, vice president and chief operating officer. The lab was founded by their grandfather, who moved to California from Argentina.
“After 65 years of serving dental professionals, I am the third generation to run the lab, and it is my job to lead the company into the digital and 3D printing era,” explained AJ. “I firmly believe that the secret to our success is our commitment to providing the highest quality solutions to our customers and patients.”
The laboratory currently employs around 40 people and is primarily involved in the production of removable prostheses, especially dentures and partial dentures. They operate four Stratasys printers, two of which are J5 DentaJets and two Objet260s. They receive an average of 80-100 digital orders per day, which represents around a third of their total workflow.
“We were the first to introduce TrueDent because we wanted to introduce this innovative solution to our customers and patients as early as possible before it hit the market,” said AJ Posca, Vice President and COO of Posca Brothers. “TrueDent allows us to expand our lab without being limited by our internal capacity.”
The TrueDent solution allows them to mass-produce multiple colors of dental devices simultaneously on a single, high-capacity tray. This multi-color printing has allowed them to produce more aesthetic and accurate parts.
“The most unique feature of TrueDent that sets it apart from other solutions on the market is its ability to print multiple color combinations at once,” explained AJ.
“The software allows us to select shades for each denture base and teeth separately. This feature allows us to expand our operations with a single printer instead of having to use multiple machines. In addition, each full-color piece – whether it’s a full or partial removable denture – is printed monolithically, eliminating the need to separately attach individual teeth. The entire digital workflow results in significant time and labor savings.”
By introducing the TrueDent solution, Posca Brothers has also reached dentists who are interested in trying out new digital solutions, including 3D printed full and partial dentures. Thanks to the increased accuracy, doctors have called patients back for adjustments on average two visits less. TrueDent has enabled the creation of accurate copies, faster turnaround times and reduced inventory requirements.
“When we introduced this technology to our lab, our clients were thrilled because we had previously relied mainly on analog solutions,” said AJ. “They could hardly believe that this removable denture was made using 3D printing, rather than the traditional analog techniques we had been using for over 60 years.”
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AJ and his team have received feedback from doctors that the look, feel, and fit of full and partial removable dentures made with TrueDent technology are extremely accurate.
“We’ve had great feedback from dentists who use TrueDent and we’re seeing a lot of demand for it,” said AJ. “Patients are also very happy because the dentures fit perfectly and they have the peace of mind that their design is digitally saved so we can reprint the dentures whenever needed.”
AJ’s father, who ran the lab for decades, was also amazed by the new technology—as were the lab’s customers. “The first week of printing, my dad just looked at the printer and couldn’t believe he’d been doing everything by hand for 45 years,” AJ said. “TrueDent and the J5 DentaJet have really changed our business model. With this technology, we can now print 12 hours a day and produce up to 34 multi-colored dentures at a time. That’s a tenfold increase in production capacity and labor efficiency compared to our previous workflow.”