The dental industry is seeing a surge in 3D printing, with the technology enabling a growing number of dentists to rapidly create custom implants in clinics around the world.

When it comes to customizing implants like dental crowns, bridges, guides, and aligners, 3D printing is faster, more accurate, and (in the longer term) less expensive than traditional impression-making. But there are drawbacks, especially around material compatibility.

3D printing materials must not only be qualified to work with certain technologies but also tested for durability, aesthetics, shrinkage, and human safety. At the moment, these issues limit variety and make older, tried and tested methods attractive to experienced dentists.

Getting new resins into the hands of these dentists requires a great deal of research. Often this centers on geometric accuracy analysis. But print size and speed can also be serious challenges here. So, how do you rapidly, repeatedly digitize and test tiny 3D-printed implants?

Challenge: Measuring 3D-printed crowns with sufficient accuracy for comparative analysis and to determine if they outperform those made with conventional dental materials.

Solution: Artec Micro II, Artec Studio, CloudCompare, MATLAB

Result: Highly detailed dental 3D models that show how one 3D-printing material yielded implants with fewer deviations (and greater potential) than another. The same workflow will now be used for further analysis at the request of an Italian dental 3D-printing specialist.

Why Artec 3D?

Micro II captures small objects automatically at high speed. Resulting data can then be used for reverse engineering and inspection inside Artec Studio. Built-in tools allow for data processing, mesh editing, and deviation analysis in a single software. More advanced users can send 3D models for deeper investigation elsewhere at the click of a button.

A nationwide collaborative research initiative has been set up in Italy, involving the Dental School at the University of Turin, Turin Polytechnic, the University of Catania, and the University of Perugia. Seeking new ways to automate metrology at its Smart Manufacturing Laboratory, the latter has just got its hands on a Artec Micro II desktop 3D scanner. As it turns out, this project has offered the perfect opportunity to test its ideas on real-life products made by a dental implant manufacturer, and in a way that could aid the wider adoption of 3D printing and improve the patient experience.

3D scan of a tooth captured with Artec Micro II. Image courtesy of the University of Perugia.

Digitizing dental implants for inspection

The University of Perugia’s Smart Manufacturing Laboratory opened a couple of years ago. The head of the laboratory, associate professor Nicola Senin, who recently inaugurated its metrology division, says that one of the lab’s main goals is “making measuring systems intelligent” through greater robotic automation, AI integration, and in-house software development. Investing in Micro II has allowed expanded optical measurement.

The team sourced its 3D scanner from 3DZ, an authorized reseller of the most prestigious 3D printing brands, and a long-standing partner of Artec 3D. With 15 offices across Europe, 3DZ acts as a trusted consultant, supporting companies in identifying the 3D technologies that best fit their specific needs. After carefully analyzing the requirements of the University of Perugia, 3DZ recommended Artec Micro II—chiefly due to its outstanding precision and ease of use.

Initially, the lab members used the technology to measure complex 3D-printed geometries for implants. Micro II enabled them to check accuracy and see whether prints deformed, twisted, or bent. These are vital issues when creating implants, because defects lead to cracks, and cracks cause breaks. As their R&D progressed, they began to seek a more practical use case. This culminated in 3D printing and digital twinning of ceramic restorations for dentistry projects.

Backed by the Italian Ministry of University & Research, the “3DCer4Dent” initiative is being led by the University of Perugia, specifically associate professor Elisabetta Zanetti (industrial bioengineering) and research fellow Giulia Pascoletti (design methods). At the university’s Smart Manufacturing Laboratory, researchers have begun 3D-scanning crowns designed by a dental implant manufacturer for real use cases. Micro II has proven perfect for the job.

Each scan takes just a few minutes, with the device’s automated platform doing much of the heavy lifting. In previous cases, X-rays and optical tomography would be deployed for further checks. But in this application, Micro II has shown that it can capture sufficient data for definitive results on its own, with clear variations being identified between two different dental ceramics. In the longer term, further R&D could lead to improved patient care.

Zanetti says, “Dentists are working with resins that experience significant shrinkage. It’s not so obvious which is the optimal scale factor to be used—that’s where we’re trying to help with Micro II. The very, very critical part is the interface between the crown and the remaining part of the tooth. You have no [dental] cement there, and if the implant isn’t congruent, you can see the introduction of bacteria. Then it’s going to fail.”

A tooth mounted in a clamp, ready for Micro II 3D scanning. Image courtesy of the University of Perugia

Analyzing new 3D-printing materials

Impressively, the vast majority of the researchers’ workflow takes place inside Artec Studio. The 3D scanning and data processing software has all the tools required to turn point clouds into highly detailed meshes that are ready for analysis and export in popular file types for manufacturing.

In this case, the team has found that it’s able to scan one side of an implant, turn it 180°, scan the other half, and quickly fuse the resulting data using point-to-point alignment. Diving into the settings allows the team to fine-tune fusion parameters for maximum resolution—this is essential to detailed surface analysis—which is also carried out in Artec Studio.

Pascoletti says, “One material has turned out to be better than the other, because smaller deviations have been found across 90 percentile values.”

Compared to when it first started its research, at which point the team was working with traditional dental and other kinds of 3D scanners, Pascoletti says Micro II “shows important accuracy differences”—in fact, that’s why they’ve been able to move into experimental testing in the first place.

For deeper statistical analysis, the University of Perugia team also uses software such as Cloud Compare and MATLAB. These platforms enable users to easily compute the difference between curved surfaces and crunch the numbers when investigating complex datasets. But the upshot is this: One material has outshone the other. The approach has been validated.

An STL file overlapped over a reconstructed mesh inside Artec Studio. Image courtesy of the University of Perugia

Potential in dental, medical, and beyond

Following its initial success, the team now plans to test at least two more zirconium materials. But the efforts aren’t just restricted to dental work. The team also sees potential for 3D scan-based analysis in medical implant customization and 3D printing satellite components.

As well as establishing other public-private partnerships, the researchers intend to continue their work on metrology-enhancing algorithms. These include auto-viewpoint generation, a workflow in which the minimum number of scans needed from each position is calculated, with resulting models sent straight for manufacture. Wherever they head next, Micro II will be central to their plans.

Senin says the device has a bright future in both design iteration and inspection. “Many metallic, ceramic, and polymeric materials should be measurable by Micro II. For example, we’re also starting to measure small components made from highly engineered materials for satellites. So far, we haven’t optimized this process, and we’re not talking about a starship here. But Micro II does allow us to track geometry changes under different temperatures as a research institution at a prototype level.”

In the hands of University of Perugia researchers, Micro II is helping unlock 3D printing’s potential in medicine, dentistry, and beyond. Who knows where else 5 micron-accuracy inspection could come in handy? Clearly, this team’s research is worth watching.

The aforementioned research project, 3D printing and digital twinning ceramic restorations for dentistry (3DCer4Dent) is being carried out with funding from the Italian Ministry of University & Research (as a PRIN initiative) with next-generation EU backing (J53D23012190).

Those seeking more information may reach out directly to Professor Zanetti at elisabetta.zanetti@unipg.it.

Published Aug. 4, 2025, by Artec 3D.