NextDent materials portfolio expands digital dentistry options with solutions for crowns, bridges and more.
In 2025, dental care looks dramatically different than it did even a decade ago. 3D Systems has positioned its NextDent material portfolio at the center of this transformation, offering dental professionals new ways to create patient-specific solutions that were once impossible.
Dental work is not a cheap task, and one goal for NextDent materials is to save money by getting patients better results. The portfolio now addresses more than 30 applications, with materials designed specifically for repairing teeth through crowns, bridges, and other restorations.
One smart way dental labs are differentiating themselves is through these specialized 3D printing materials. But this isn’t your hobbyist level dental printing.
Dental additive manufacturing, evolved 3D Systems specializes in what the industry calls “additive manufacturing,” building dental restorations one layer at a time. While many people use the term 3D printing, professionals often reserve that description for hobby-level projects, with additive manufacturing representing industrial-grade solutions.
Unlike traditional methods that require cutting away material, additive manufacturing builds exactly what’s needed. For dental labs and clinics, NextDent materials are used for creating crowns, bridges, and other patient-specific devices.
Not too long ago dental labs depended solely on conventional fabrication methods that limited designs and became costly. The additive logic changes everything.
“Our technology provides tremendous freedom of design,” says a 3D Systems representative. “Traditional methods limit what shapes you can create, while 3D printing with NextDent materials allows for complex geometries that fit patients better and last longer.”
The NextDent portfolio carries regulatory approvals across major markets including the United States, Europe, and Asia. The materials are compatible not only with 3D Systems’ own printers like the NextDent 5100 and NextDent LCD1, but also with other industry-leading dental 3D printers.
Last year, 3D Systems expanded its material offerings through a partnership with Saremco Dental AG, making their CROWNTEC material available for NextDent 3D printers to produce permanent crowns.
The bet on dental materials is paying off. According to internal market estimates, applications for dental “repair” in the United States alone represent approximately $150 million in opportunity by 2029, with the global market approximately three times larger.
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The next frontier in dental materials in recent months, 3D Systems has been gaining momentum, establishing itself as a leader in dental materials innovation. This market is still heating up with startups and incumbents all fighting to gain an edge.
3D Systems has one major factor working in its favor: decades of experience in dental material development. What’s new is that today’s materials are more precise, more durable, and more versatile than ever before.
“I think what’s changing so dramatically is material performance,” Dr. Jeffrey Graves, president and CEO of 3D Systems, told me. “We are entering into this dental world that is stronger, more beautiful and biocompatible — so that we can handle things that we could never handle before.”
He expects the next breakthrough to be in production efficiency, or how quickly dental restorations can be created.
“If a dental lab needs dozens of different restorations each day, you want materials and processes that work faster,” Graves says. “How quickly can you make a crown or bridge that is still accurate, still strong, still aesthetically pleasing, but produced more efficiently?”
Dental professionals clearly care about both quality and speed, and NextDent materials allow them to quickly create new restorations. A dental lab using these materials can produce patient-specific devices faster and at lower cost than with traditional methods.
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In the past, a dental lab may have taken days on a single crown or bridge. With NextDent materials and compatible 3D printers, that time can be reduced to hours or even less, with results that match or exceed traditional methods.
“The thing that dental labs never have is extra time,” a industry specialist notes.
Many of the applications for NextDent materials focus on restorations like crowns and bridges. For patients, that translates into better-fitting, longer-lasting solutions that provide an enhanced fit and more natural look. For dentists, it translates to extended capabilities, increased efficiency, and superior economics.
“It’s better, faster, cheaper,” says Dr. Graves. “It’s faster to print a restoration than to mill it, and it’s certainly more cost-effective in multiple ways. There’s less material waste, less labor required, and more consistent results.”
