The University of Colorado Anschutz School of Dental Medicine has launched a new 3D Print Hub designed to accelerate the translation of dental materials research into clinical practice and student training. Built on decades of polymer science and engineering innovation, the hub serves as a direct link between laboratory discoveries and patient care.
One of the core breakthroughs behind the 3D Print Hub is a new approach to denture fabrication. Unlike traditional dentures, which rely on injection molding, subtractive milling or single-material printing followed by manual assembly, 3D inkjet printing allows our team to fabricate the entire denture — base and teeth — in a single build, in just a few hours.
Led by Jeffrey Stansbury, Ph.D., professor and senior associate dean for research, the Stansbury laboratory has developed polymer systems that can accurately control stiffness, elasticity and other properties, opening new possibilities for designing removable prostheses. This includes early work on removable partial dentures — an area where no monolithic, multimaterial printed solutions currently exist. The team is collaborating with experts in prostheses design to understand how these capabilities may improve performance and long-term durability.
To move the work toward clinical use, Stansbury collaborated with the dental manufacturing company Myerson to develop a custom inkjet-based 3D printer engineered specifically for these materials. The effort led to a joint venture that introduced the first-generation printed denture to the commercial market in 2025 through Myerson’s affiliation with Henry Schein.
Although the dentures are FDA cleared, they have not yet been evaluated in a controlled clinical trial. The new 3D Print Hub now creates that opportunity. One printer will remain in the Stansbury laboratory for research focused on new materials development, and a second clinically dedicated printer will operate in the hub, so students and faculty can begin using the technology for their patients.
The first clinical trial will compare analog compression molded dentures with inkjet-printed dentures using a blinded design to measure patient satisfaction and functional outcomes. In addition to validating the existing commercially available printed dentures, the study will lay the foundation for future testing of advanced materials and associated multi-material design opportunities.
Parallel research from Devatha Nair, Ph.D., and her laboratory in coordination with School of Medicine Professor Michael Schurr, Ph.D., is developing antimicrobial and antifungal materials that can be incorporated directly into the printed denture or applied as a coating. These materials show significant activity against Streptococcus species and Candida — the bacteria and fungus, respectively, that commonly cause infections in people who wear dentures.
“This pathway is likely going to improve the oral health of anybody wearing a full or partial denture made with this material,” Stansbury said.
This initiative aligns with community health goals supported by the Anschutz Acceleration Innovation grant. After internal trials, the team hopes to expand studies to patients in surrounding communities.
AAI Grant-Funded Research Team Members
- Primary PI: Jeff Stansbury / Co-PI: Mike Schurr
- Faculty: Devatha Nair, Chaitanya Puranik, Sangeetha Chandrasekaran, David Gozalo, Bruce Dye, Karo Parsegian, Rob MacCurdy
- Students/Fellows/Staff: David Danforth, Anna Gartners, Sean Keyser, Sebastian Lopez, Sean Norris, Chelsea Soto, Laurine Szymanski, Vidyacharan Gopaluni, Patrick Cavanaugh
- Several students have contributed to the project at no cost (all received recognition for poster or oral presentations of their work): Dongjoon Choe, Nisali Piyasena, Christian Hansen, Mason Gueller, Marco Benitez, Aesha Kothamdi
The convergence of multimaterial printing, tunable mechanical behavior, and built-in antimicrobial technologies represents a potential shift in how removable prostheses are designed and delivered across the dental profession.
The 3D Print Hub positions CU Anschutz Dental as the first dental school to integrate materials research, multimaterial additive manufacturing, clinical trials and student education in a dedicated space. The school is home to multiple patient care clinics where these dentures will become available as studies advance.
“Both students and faculty will be able to try things they haven’t had access to before,” Stansbury said. The printer will be integrated into the school’s digital dentistry curriculum. By reducing cost and turnaround time, the workflow allows students to fabricate high-accuracy dentures and place more prostheses during clinical rotations.
The hub also supports interdisciplinary research. A collaboration with mechanical engineering at CU Boulder brings expertise in inkjet printing software and custom printer design. The engineering team developed the multimaterial control software and a small-format printer for experimental studies.
“The dental world is watching our project,” Stansbury said.
By combining materials science, engineering, clinical evaluation and dental education, the 3D Print Hub establishes a new model for how dental schools integrate research and patient care. As clinical data emerges, CU Anschutz Dental is positioned to guide national standards for digitally fabricated removable prostheses and advance the future of denture materials and design.
Top photo, left to right: Sean Keyser, Ph.D., Sebastian Lopez, Jeff Stansbury, Ph.D., Devatha Nair, Ph.D., Anna Gartner