Chairside 3D Printing & Milling for Everyday Dentistry — Hands-On Tools, Tips & Predictable Outcomes
- Gorton Chen
- Sep 4, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
This fast-paced, practical workshop is for dentists and teams who want a simple, reliable path to in-house manufacture. We’ll cover MSLA/DLP printing and chairside milling for splints, mouthguards, whitening trays, onlays/inlays, and single-unit crowns/bridges (provisional and definitive, material-dependent). You’ll learn when to print vs mill, how to keep costs down, and how to get consistent, patient-ready results without fuss.
Across the day we’ll run through scan → design → manufacture → finish using straightforward clinical workflows. You’ll get hands-on with file prep, printer settings, CAM/nesting, burs and toolpaths, post-processing, crystallisation/sintering where required, and chairside finishing/polishing. Whether you’re just getting started or streamlining what you already do, you’ll leave confident to produce everyday appliances and restorations in-house, on time and on budget.
What You Will Learn
MSLA vs DLP: strengths, limits, and clinical use cases
When to print vs mill: a simple decision guide (fit, finish, strength, turnaround, cost)
Chairside applications: occlusal splints, sports mouthguards, whitening trays, onlays/inlays, and crowns/bridges (provisional and material-approved definitive options)
Printing workflow: file preparation, supports, orientation, printer setup
Post-processing: wash, cure, and finishing best practice for biocompatible resins
Materials for printing: indication-specific, mechanical properties, and record-keeping
Milling workflow: block/disc selection (PMMA, hybrid composite, glass-ceramic, zirconia), CAM basics, nesting, sprues, and bur sets
Furnace steps: crystallisation/speed-sintering essentials (time/temperature are system-specific), stain-and-glaze, and chairside polish
Cementation & bonding basics: prep design, isolation, and surface treatment by material
Hybrid workflows: print the provisional today, mill the definitive when appropriate
Troubleshooting: failed prints, warping, chipping, margin fractures, fit issues
Maintenance & calibration: daily/weekly checks for printers, mills, furnaces, and handpieces
Time & cost: simple chairside calculators to budget minutes and dollars per case
Course Schedule
Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
Time: 08:30 – 17:00H
Location: Osseo Group HQ, F47 2 Slough Avenue, Silverwater NSW
CPD: 8 Credits
08:30 – 09:00 | Welcome & Course Overview
Digital manufacturing in daily dentistry (print + mill)
Simple ROI model: time, materials, and payback
Safety, infection control, and record-keeping basics
09:00 – 09:30 | Digital Splint Production Essentials
Traditional vs digital: fit, turnaround, cost
Overview: Aoralscan 3, Aoralscan Elite, CreSplint 2.0, AccuFab-CEL
09:30 – 10:00 | Hands-On: Digital Scanning
Scan a study model with Aoralscan
AI-assisted alignment and scan optimisation
10:00 – 10:15 | Morning Tea Break
10:15 – 10:45 | Introduction to CreSplint 2.0
User interface walkthrough
Auto-Generation vs manual design workflows
10:45 – 11:45 | Hands-On: Designing an Occlusal Splint
Step-by-step design process
Occlusal adjustment and articulation settings
AI automation vs custom fine-tuning
11:45 – 12:30 | Lunch Break
12:30 – 13:00 | Introduction to AccuFab & 3D Printing
Why AccuFab: speed, accuracy, affordability
Setting up a job in AccuWare
One-Click Printing: material selection & auto supports
13:00 – 13:30 | Hands-On: Printing & Curing the Splint
Printer prep and resin handling
Best practice for printing splints
Wash and cure for biocompatible resins
13:30 – 14:00 | Chairside Milling: What, When, and Why
Print vs mill decision guide (fit, finish, strength, time)
Systems overview: wet/dry, 4-axis/5-axis
Materials: PMMA, hybrid composite, glass-ceramic, zirconia (speed-sinter where applicable)
14:00 – 14:15 | Afternoon Tea Break
14:15 – 15:00 | Hands-On: CAM & Milling a Single-Unit
Nesting, sprues, toolpaths, and bur sets
Mill a provisional crown (PMMA/hybrid) chairside
Quick try-in and chairside polish
15:00 – 15:30 | Furnace Steps & Definitive Options
Crystallisation for glass-ceramics (time/temperature are system-specific)
Stain-and-glaze overview
Surface treatment, bonding/cementation basics by material
15:30 – 16:00 | Post-Processing & Finishing
Printed splint: support removal, text engraving, high-gloss polish
Milled crown: margin refinement, occlusal adjustment, final polish
16:00 – 16:30 | ROI & Business Implementation
Cost breakdown: chairside inputs vs lab outsourcing
Pricing, scheduling, and stock control (resins, blocks, burs)
Daily integration: simple checklists and maintenance
16:30 | Q&A, Certificates & Closing Remarks
Why Choose This Course?
Hands-on and clinic-ready: Scan, design, print, mill, finish.
Practical workflows: Clear steps for splints and single-unit restorations.
Real numbers: Understand costs, timings, and how to make it pay in your practice.
Our speaker
Stuart is a registered practitioner and Technical Director of Osseo Group, with more than 15 years of experience across clinical, technical and commercial medical device production and production systems.
He works closely with Shining 3D as an R&D ambassador, contributing to new product releases, technical review and optimisation of unreleased production prototypes, workflow development, and software and hardware assessment. He also supports R&D with UP3D and MEYER Optoelectronic Corp.
His background spans manufacturing, dental and industrial CAD, embedded systems and automation. He is experienced in Autodesk AutoCAD, Fusion and EAGLE PCB design, applying those tools across product development, prototyping and workflow optimisation. Stuart designed the core functional modules for the iDentalLab and DentalJMS production management systems, and has worked on-site with production-scale dental laboratories on process optimisation, quality control, production auditing for throughput, productivity and redundancy, and workflow refinement, targeting an at-fault redo rate of 3% across departments.
His focus remains on throughput stability and practical, reliable digital systems that work in the real world, not just on paper.
