Seventy-Two Percent of Labs Have 3D Printers Now—And the Margins Are Evaporating

Seventy-two percent of dental labs now use 3D printers. That's the highest adoption rate since 2014. You're not early anymore. You're mainstream. And the business model is breaking.

What happened: NADL's 2025 survey shows 3D printer adoption hit 72 percent across labs. Formlabs owns 34 percent market share among small labs. SprintRay, Asiga, and Desktop Health split the rest. Printers cost between $3K and $50K. Software licenses are subscriptions. Material waste is real despite vendor claims.

Why this matters: Every lab running 3D now is commoditizing their production. Same technology, same results, same price pressure. Margins are shrinking because adoption flattened the curve. You can't charge a premium for a process everyone has. Plus, in-house printing for small practices is coming. A SprintRay Pro 2 at $30K suddenly looks cheap at full productivity.

Action: Stop assuming 3D printing saves money. Map your actual margin per case before and after. Measure material waste. Compare against sending to your lab. If the ROI isn't 18 months or better, you're printing out of fear, not economics.