Australian Team 3D Prints Dental Models That Behave Like Real Tissue

A team in Australia is trying to fix one of dentistry's oldest training problems. Dental students learn on models that look like teeth but do not act like them. Plastic and resin substitutes hold their shape under a drill. Real enamel and dentin chip, crack, and give way.

Fusetec, a medical training device company, is working with Adelaide University and the Additive Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre on an 18-month, AU$800,000 project to change that. The goal is to 3D print dental replicas that respond to surgical force the way real tissue does.

The models will replicate not just the anatomy of teeth, jawbone, and soft tissue, but also how those materials behave during procedures like wisdom tooth removal. Associate Professor Ling Yin of Adelaide University's School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering is leading the research. He says existing training models cannot replicate the feel and behavior of human dental tissue.

The team will use advanced clinical imaging, digital modeling, and multi-material additive manufacturing to produce patient-specific replicas. Researchers will also build simulation tools to understand fracture force thresholds during surgery.

The work builds on an existing partnership between Fusetec and Adelaide University. The companies already supply 3D printed sinus trainers to the university's medical school, replacing cadaver-based training. That earlier collaboration showed 3D printed models could cut training costs while increasing practice volume.

If the biomimetic dental models hit their targets, the next step is commercialization. Fusetec CEO Mark Roe says the project aims to turn years of research into a product with real clinical value. For dental schools, that could mean training on something that finally feels like the real thing.