3D Guards Put the Brakes on Bruxism

In the last several years, John Flucke, DDS, has seen growth—an abundance of growth. For one thing, his patient visits have increased. He’s also seen an uptick in the amount of new technology he’s been able to incorporate into his workflow, including 3D printing. Yet another area of growth is the number of patients who present in his dental chair with bruxism. And those numbers continue to increase.

“I’ve noticed more patients are clenching and grinding,” shared Dr. Flucke, who practices in Lee’s Summit, MO. “I’ve been recommending occlusal guards or splints to these patients to help them stop wearing down their teeth, which leads to fractures.”

Strong Yet Flexible

VOCO’s V-Print splint comfort is a light-cured resin for 3D printing of thermo-flexible therapeutic splints, aligners, and night guards. Extremely fracture resistant and highly durable, night guards made with V-Print splint comfort are FDA-cleared, biocompatible, odorless, and have a neutral flavor for increased patient acceptance.

“V-Print splint comfort guards have more ‘give’ to them,” Dr. Flucke explained. “Some patients clench so hard that they actually break hard splints, but it’s much harder to break something that’s flexible.”

A Cost-Effective Solution

Polishable and color stable for superior esthetics, the clear-transparent night guards can be as thin as 1 mm and devices can be post-cured without protective gas for a faster and more cost-efficient production process. An added bonus, V-Print resins are sedimentation-free and ready for use without shaking, a feature that eliminates air bubbles.

“These guards are not bulky, and they’re easy to finish and polish,” Dr. Flucke said. “I’ve yet to see any excessive wear, and I have seen wear in the past with other materials. I tell patients that I can make these guards for a lot less money than making them new teeth!” he added.