this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2026
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In the US, about 72 million adults, roughly 27% of the population, do not have dental insurance.

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[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

these feel good stories just make me sad.

[–] Trex202@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

He's only slowing down the orphan crushing machine

[–] shirasho@feddit.online 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

We don't have dental insurance because most practices don't accept most dental insurance. It is a problem on both ends.

Accepting insurance means being at the whims of the insurance companies for what treatments are allowed and how they are performed. Rejecting insurance means practices are in full control over the services they provide but it also means people can't afford it. Dentistry is highly complicated so many practices decide to take full control to give patients the best care possible, but it also means the services are highly unaffordable to many.

It is so fucked. I don't understand why insurance is allowed to dictate what service people are entitled to instead of the doctors, and I don't understand why insurance doesn't pay a penny for out of network services on some plans. If you were gonna pay up to $200 for in-network treatment why won't you cover at least that much for out of network treatment?

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Capitalism is a bitch.

[–] Kevlar21@piefed.social 3 points 3 days ago (5 children)

I wish they would have gone into more technical detail about the scanning and printing processes, materials used etc. I’m imagining plastic teeth with the layers separating

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

Resin 3D printing. It's how they make invisaligns, the shape is one piece of plastic.

[–] GamingChairModel@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Dental 3D printing is a different beast from consumer printers. The dental printers are already certified to actually create regulator approved devices that can go in a patient's mouth.

[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 2 points 3 days ago

I imagine it’d make more sense to print a mould and cast the teeth.

[–] Mihies@programming.dev 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It might be also potentially dangerous for bacteria build up because of space in between layers. 3D printed stuff is certainly not safe for food.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

3D printed stuff is certainly not safe for food

Neither are ceramic dishes if you don't wash them with soap.

[–] deafboy@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The printers in the video do not look like extrusion printers, but on the other hand, the resin used in other type is carcinogenic as hell as far as I remember.

[–] Mihies@programming.dev 1 points 3 days ago

Pick your poison, eh

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

they probably also need to account for patients differences in individuals mouth, teeth, jaws.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

he starts by 3D scanning the mouth of the patient, or an imprint.

[–] kinther@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago

This is a cool use of 3d printing!

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 0 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

if only they could do crowns too, which are usually around 1-2k/tooth even with "insurance', thats why ROOT canals are expensive. crowns are half the cost.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 days ago

Both can be unnecessary and eventually lead to a dead tooth that will require an implant.