3D printing hit milling costs. In-office fabrication just became inevitable.

3D printing hit milling costs. In-office fabrication just became inevitable.

In-office milling (Cerec, Dentsply) has owned the CAD/CAM crown market for years. Cost: $150 to $180 per unit, plus depreciation on a $40K machine. 3D printing moved into that space with comparable accuracy and just hit the same per-unit cost on materials.

Difference? Print times are now 20-30 minutes versus 8-10 minutes for milling. That kills same-day delivery. But if your schedule allows it—print in the afternoon, deliver the next morning—you've just eliminated lab costs entirely.

The play isn't crown-by-crown anymore. It's full case workflow: scan, design, print, fire, seat. A practice that commits to printing can hold inventory of crowns, bridges, and inlays that are ready to customize at delivery. Milling can't compete on inventory speed.

Materials are the question mark. Milled resins perform differently than printed ones. Flexural strength data from 2025 showed parity on glass ceramics, but long-term wear data is still coming in. Labs that switched to printing in 2024 are now the test cases for 2026 adoption.

If you're running a mill, great. Keep it running. If you're buying your first in-office system, look hard at printing. The cost crossover just happened. The margin advantage is now with 3D, not milling.