Technical and Clinical Considerations for Laboratory Professionals and Clinicians
TrueDent® represents a fundamental departure from the manual assembly-based paradigm of conventional and first-generation digital dentures fabrication. Using the Stratasys J5 DentaJet® with PolyJetTM multi-material jetting technology, TrueDent produces a fully monolithic prosthesis in a single continuous print with no discrete tooth-to-base adhesive interface and no socket-and-bond assembly. This approach defines a new standard in the fabrication of 3D printed digital dentures, enabling improved structural integrity, accuracy, and repeatability.
The system deploys five core photopolymer resins (cyan, magenta, yellow, white, and clear) through inkjet-style printheads at a native layer resolution of 18.75 microns. Precise voxel-level droplet patterns produce defined volumetric shade and translucency values throughout the print volume. Full-encapsulation of a wax-like support material decreases dimensional deviation and warping during cure, distinguishing PolyJet from open-tray SLA/DLP photopolymerization where surface tension variation during post-cure processing can introduce dimensional deviation.
Independent accuracy data from Boston University (Giordano, 2026) demonstrates 92% of tooth positions within 100-micron tolerance across the J5 DentaJet statistically superior to all competing platforms (p<0.05). These findings reinforce the clinical reliability of 3D printed digital dentures produced using monolithic PolyJet technology. The monolithic architecture eliminates tooth debonding as a failure mode and has been independently validated by Sallam et al. (BMC Oral Health, 2025) as producing superior tooth position accuracy compared to bonded assembly workflows.
TrueVoxelTM represents a category advance in prosthetic aesthetic design methodology and a defining innovation in voxel-level dental printing. Where conventional fabrication and SLA/DLP digital workflows apply aesthetic characterization to the prosthesis surface after fabrication, TrueVoxel assigns optical properties like color, shade, translucency, and opacity values at the voxel level throughout the three-dimensional volume of the prosthesis before printing begins. This fundamentally redefines digital denture aesthetics by shifting control from surface treatment to volumetric design.
The prosthesis is not conceived as a surface with properties but as a volume composed of millions of individually specified voxels. Each voxel can be assigned a color for prosthetic personalization that has direct clinical and laboratory implications for aesthetics, reproducibility, and the physical basis of the optical output for a natural smile. These capabilities are made possible through voxel-level dental printing.
Natural enamel at the incisal edge is characteristically thin and relatively high in translucency, creating the light-transmission behavior that distinguishes vital dentition from opaque synthetic substitutes. TrueVoxel specifies this gradient volumetrically. From the opaque dentin-core voxels at the body of the tooth, opacity decreases and translucency increases voxel-by-voxel toward the incisal third of an anterior tooth. The result is light transmission behavior that physically replicates natural enamel optics rather than approximating the appearance through surface stain.
This gradient persists through occlusal adjustment and normal wear because it is encoded throughout the material volume, not applied to the surface. Polishing and adjustments expose new voxels with identical optical specifications.
Internal dentin structures (mamelons) produce zones of differential opacity and translucency visible through the enamel of natural anterior teeth, particularly in younger or lightly worn dentition. In conventional and most digital workflows, mamelons are reproduced as surface texture or extrinsic characterization stain, both of which are vulnerable to removal during polishing or use.
TrueVoxel assigns mamelon optical differentiation within the tooth volume as spatially defined subsurface opacity variation. The optical effect is produced by the interaction of light with actual voxel-level material composition differences throughout the tooth body, not by surface staining.
Internal mamelon structures survive polishing, adjustment, and normal service life because they are a volumetric material property, not a surface extrinsic characteristic.
The cervical-to-incisal color gradient in natural teeth reflects the progressive thinning of enamel toward the cementoenamel junction and the increasing optical dominance of the underlying dentin. TrueVoxel encodes this gradient volumetrically with cervical voxels carrying higher chroma that transitions toward the tooth body in defined spatial increments.
This design geometry and color specification is stored in the patient's digital design file and can be reproduced identically in every print of that file. Unlike extrinsic characterization, the cervical gradient neither degrades with use nor varies between reprints.
The impact of TrueVoxel on digital denture aesthetics can be clearly understood by comparing conventional workflows with volumetric PolyJet implementation:
|
Aesthetic Feature |
Conventional / SLA / DLP |
TrueVoxel (PolyJet) |
|
Incisal translucency |
Surface stain or glaze applied post-print |
Voxel-by-voxel optical gradient built into tooth volume |
|
Internal structure/mamelons |
Surface texture or painted characterization |
Subsurface optical depth assigned throughout tooth body |
|
Cervical gradient |
Extrinsic shade blending, degrades with wear |
Volumetrically specified, maintained through material thickness |
|
Reproducibility |
Manual re-characterization required for each reprint |
Exact optical specification archived in digital file, exact reprint |
|
Customization workflow |
Technician-dependent, variable outcome |
One-click, standardized across technicians and print runs |
TrueVoxel is integrated into the TrueDent workflow at the design stage. Optical assignments are made in software before printing and no additional manual characterization steps are needed. Key production parameters are unchanged:
TrueVoxel does not alter the clinical data-capture workflow. Records required for TrueDent fabrication digital impressions, bite registration, shade selection, photographic documentation remain unchanged. Clinicians benefit from:
The following specifications summarize the core capabilities of the TrueDent/TrueVoxel platform, enabled by advances in voxel-level dental printing:
|
TrueVoxel: Technical Specification Summary |
|
|
Layer resolution |
18.75 microns native layer thickness |
|
Optical features |
Incisal translucency gradient, internal mamelons, cervical gradient all volumetrically specified |
|
Resin system |
Five core resins (cyan, magenta, yellow, white, clear); combinatorial shade matching at voxel level |
|
Patent status |
Application filed October 1, 2025; first additive manufacturing platform with voxel-level optical control in dental restorations |
|
ISO compliance |
TrueDent meets and exceeds ISO 20795-1 (denture base materials) |
|
Surface protocol |
Polishing + photopolymerizable glaze (Optiglaze) Indiana University protocol (Azpiazu-Flores et al., J Prosthodont, 2024) |
The TrueDent/TrueVoxel platform is supported by a growing body of independent, peer-reviewed research from leading North American dental institutions. Key findings relevant to clinical and laboratory decision-making:
Resources & Next Steps
Explore TrueDent resources, request a sample, or register for an upcoming clinical webinar to learn more about the next generation of 3D printed digital dentures and volumetric prosthetic design.. Reference list and supporting study PDFs available through Stratasys Academy.
References
