3D Printing Your Own Braces Works And Is A Terrible Idea

3D Printing Your Own Braces Works And Is A Terrible Idea

At the age of nine, I became the first kid in my primary school class to get braces. They did their job, but by the time I left university, I’d lost my retainers and my teeth had drifted back into disarray. Imagine the feeling of kinship, then, when I saw a blog post by a university student who 3D-printed his own braces.

Amos Dudley is a 3D artist and student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Having gone through a similar experience of suffering through braces and then giving up on the retainer, he figured out how to create his own Invisalign clear braces using a 3D scanner and additive manufacturing. It’s a clever trick, but be forewarned, DIY dentistry is a dangerous game. More on that in a second.

3D Printing Your Own Braces Works And Is A Terrible Idea
Look at this thing! (via Amos Dudley)

Look at this thing! (via Amos Dudley)

As Dudley explained in his post, he was an unusual but perfect candidate for an experiment like this. As a university student, he’s both dead broke and in close proximity to expensive 3D printing equipment. Dudley said he initially visited a dentist who told him he was a good candidate for Invisalign, but after coming across a photo that showed an aligner with what looked like layer striations from 3-D printing, he decided to do some research.

“Cost was a factor in the sense that I didn’t want to pay for braces again,” Dudley said. “The idea of spending thousands again just to fix something I had screwed up seemed perverse. The idea that I could do it myself, immediately, for virtually free, was the main motivator.”

Dudley explained that the research was the most difficult part — not to mention the fact that he’s a univeristy student who is presumably busy doing other university student-y things. He also had to make sure to “conclude that [he] couldn’t take any shortcuts”, which was probably smart.

3D Printing Your Own Braces Works And Is A Terrible Idea
Amos Dudley

Amos Dudley

Dudley began by taking a mould of his teeth, which was done using alginate powder. (“You can get this from Amazon or an art supply store,” he told us helpfully.) He then placed the mould in an upside-down yoghurt container and filled it with PermaStone, which produced a casting.

After scanning the casting, he was able to create a digital model for a number of different aligners, each with differently positioned teeth. He printed the models using a 3-D printer and, with the help of a vacuum form machine, later created plastic aligners that fit the models. He told us he used the same plastic retainer material that they use in an orthodontist’s office which is “totally biologically inert [and] doesn’t leach toxic chemicals into your mouth or break down over time”.

The vacuum form machine is important, he said, because 3D printing the actual aligners wouldn’t work.

“Aside from being non-transparent and uncomfortably textured, [that plastic] is quite porous and would be very bad for oral hygiene because of bacterial growth,” he said. “I bought the stuff on eBay. The sale of dental supplies really aren’t tightly controlled — who wants them other than dentists?”

He’s been wearing the aligners for 16 weeks, and so far, they appear to be working.

3D Printing Your Own Braces Works And Is A Terrible Idea
Before (via Amos Dudley)

Before (via Amos Dudley)

3D Printing Your Own Braces Works And Is A Terrible Idea
After (via Amos Dudley)

After (via Amos Dudley)

“I’ve heard from a few orthodontists and orthodontic technicians that I basically replicated the commercial process pretty closely,” Dudley said. “[But] I’d advise against making your own aligners.”

Of course, most do-it-yourself projects that involve teeth are risky, dangerous and often quite dumb. Practising orthodontist Brent Larson, an associate professor of orthodontics at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, sounded very wary of Dudley’s escapades when I contacted him.

“I’m impressed with the way [he] was able to use the scanning and printing technology that he had available to engineer and produce his own aligners but a little frightened that he would actually use them to treat himself without a professional assessment of the health and function of the teeth.” The dental professional added, “In fact, when looking at the images of the DIYer’s teeth, there are specific areas of tooth wear visible that indicate unbalanced function and possible nighttime grinding.”

The American Association of Orthodontists has taken a hardline approach to DIY dentistry, warning that the practice is stupid, dangerous and not worth it.

“DIY solutions are always tempting because of the possibility of saving money,” Larson explained. “But this isn’t like home remodelling where if you get into trouble you can always call in a professional later … [the] damage could result in loss of the supporting tooth root, gum recession, or, in the worst case, loss of teeth.”

Whatever, Dr Larson. Let me revel in my dream of cheap orthodontics until they become detached and ruin my entire jaw. Or maybe not.

Top image: Amos Dudley


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.