Formlabs Dental: 3D Printers, Resins and Workflow Explained
A practical guide to Formlabs Dental's Form 4B printers, 15+ dental resins, FDA clearances, and open-material workflow for labs and practices.
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| Attribute | Form 4B Formlabs | Form 4BL Formlabs |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Contact Formlabs or Henry Schein for current pricing; figures change. | Contact Formlabs or Henry Schein for current pricing; figures change. |
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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| Best for | Practices and small labs wanting a validated, largely turnkey SLA workflow with regulatory-ready resins | Mid-to-large dental labs running high volumes of orthodontic models, surgical guides, or digital dentures |
- Price
- Contact Formlabs or Henry Schein for current pricing; figures change.
- Pros
- 49-second model print speed (vendor-reported)
- 15+ proprietary dental resins plus Open Material Mode for 405 nm third-party materials
- Multiple FDA-cleared resins including for permanent restorations and long-term appliances
- Compact form factor suited to chairside or small lab use
- Cons
- Best results require Formlabs' own post-processing hardware (FormWash, FormCure)
- Unvalidated third-party resins require independent profile development
- Vendor-reported performance figures lack broad independent verification
- Best for
- Practices and small labs wanting a validated, largely turnkey SLA workflow with regulatory-ready resins
- Price
- Contact Formlabs or Henry Schein for current pricing; figures change.
- Pros
- Large build volume for batch production of models, guides, and dentures
- Automatic resin dispensing and faster material changes reduce technician touchpoints
- Supports same resin portfolio as Form 4B including Lucitone Digital Print via OMM
- Designed to lower per-unit labor cost at scale
- Cons
- Larger footprint requires dedicated lab space
- Higher capital cost than the Form 4B
- Economic case only holds at sufficient case volume to utilise capacity
- Best for
- Mid-to-large dental labs running high volumes of orthodontic models, surgical guides, or digital dentures
Verdict: For most practices starting with in-office printing, the Form 4B offers the better entry point; the Form 4BL makes sense once case volume justifies the larger footprint and capital outlay.
Formlabs Dental makes SLA 3D printers and photopolymer resins purpose-built for dental labs and practices. If you’re evaluating whether their hardware fits your workflow, the short answer is: the Form 4B is the clinical workhorse, the Form 4BL is for high-volume labs, and the breadth of FDA-cleared resins is where the platform genuinely differentiates itself.
What Is Formlabs Dental?
Formlabs, headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, is widely regarded as the largest supplier of professional stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printers. The dental division — Formlabs Dental — targets both chairside practices and dedicated dental labs with a unified hardware-plus-materials platform.
It’s part of the broader shift toward digital dentistry that’s reshaping how labs and practices approach production. But unlike many players in that space, Formlabs built its reputation on the hardware side first, then worked backward into clinical materials.
The Hardware: Form 4B and Form 4BL
Formlabs unveiled the Form 4 series in April 2024. The dental-specific variant, the Form 4B, uses a low-force display print engine with an ultra-high-power backlight, a proprietary release texture, and a dual-layer resin tank. According to Formlabs, it can produce an accurate dental model every 49 seconds — a vendor-reported figure worth stress-testing against your own case mix before purchasing.
For labs running higher volumes, the Form 4BL is the large-format version. It adds automatic resin dispensing, faster material changes, and a build volume that suits batch production of orthodontic models or surgical guides. The pitch is fewer manual touchpoints per part, which translates to lower labor cost per unit — assuming your lab can keep the machine fed with cases. Formlabs also reports a 99% print success rate for the Form 4L platform, though independent third-party validation of that figure isn’t yet widely published.
Both machines run on the same core print engine, so staff trained on one can move to the other without relearning fundamentals.
Dental Resins: Range and Regulatory Status
This is where Formlabs Dental’s story gets more interesting. The Form 4B and Form 4BL support 15+ proprietary dental resins out of the box, covering most of the common production applications:
- Crown and bridge models, diagnostic models, aligner models
- Occlusal splints and nightguards (Dental LT Comfort, Dental LT Clear V2)
- Permanent restorations (Permanent Crown resin, developed with BEGO)
- Surgical guides — relevant if your practice offers guided implant surgery
- Denture bases and teeth, including validated workflows with Dentsply Sirona’s Lucitone Digital Print system
- Casting patterns (Clear Cast Resin)
Several resins carry FDA 510(k) clearance. The Dental LT Clear V2 is cleared for long-term removable appliances indicated for TMD and bruxism. Premium Teeth Resin — a nanoceramic material — is cleared for crowns, inlays, onlays, veneers, and up to seven-unit temporary bridges, per Dr. Bicuspid reporting on the FDA clearance. BioMed Clear has been cited for the highest number of ISO 10993 subsection certifications among biocompatible 3D printing resins, along with USP VI certification, according to Formlabs.
The in-house cost case for Dental LT Comfort is one Formlabs cites frequently: $5–$7 per splint in about two to three hours, versus $100–$200 and up to a week when outsourced. Those are vendor-reported figures, but the directional economics hold up for most practices — the math changes depending on your material waste and technician time.
Open Material Mode
Beyond Formlabs’ own resins, the Form 4B supports Open Material Mode (OMM), which lets labs run any 405 nm photopolymer. This is a meaningful differentiator. Dentsply Sirona validated its full Lucitone Digital Print denture material system on the Form 4B through OMM. Voco validated its V-Print line, including V-Print c&b temp for long-term temporaries and V-Print dentbase. BEGO’s VarseoSmile TriniQ was Formlabs’ first third-party certified material.
The certified materials programme involves cross-testing and validated print settings developed jointly by Formlabs and the material partner — so you’re not flying blind with third-party resins the way you might be on other open platforms.
Workflow Integration
Formlabs was among the first companies to offer in-house post-processing — FormWash for alcohol washing and FormCure for UV/temperature-controlled curing. Both are sized for chairside or small lab use, which matters if you’re not running a dedicated post-processing station.
The digital denture angle is worth calling out. Globally, only about 1% of the estimated 50 million dentures produced annually are made with digital tools, per Formlabs’ own market data. That gap is the bet the company is making with its denture platform — if you’re a lab thinking about digital dentures, the validated Lucitone workflow on the Form 4BL is one of the more complete turnkey options currently available.
Distribution and Procurement
Henry Schein is the preferred North American reseller for the Form 4B and Form 4BL, which simplifies procurement for practices already working within that supply chain. That said, pricing and availability shift, so confirm current figures directly with Formlabs or Henry Schein before budgeting.
The Honest Trade-Offs
Formlabs’ ecosystem is deliberately closed at the top — you get the best results with validated resins and their own post-processing hardware. Open Material Mode adds flexibility, but setting up an unvalidated resin takes real experimentation. The platform rewards labs that run consistent, repeatable workflows; it’s less suited to one-off jobs where you’re constantly switching materials.
For practices just starting with in-office printing, the Form 4B paired with two or three core resins — an aligner/model resin, Dental LT Comfort for splints, and possibly Permanent Crown — covers the majority of common applications without overcomplicating the setup. Scale from there once your team is comfortable with the post-processing routine.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Formlabs Form 4B and Form 4BL for dental use?
The Form 4B is a benchtop SLA printer designed for chairside practices and smaller labs, capable of producing a dental model every 49 seconds according to Formlabs. The Form 4BL is the large-format version, built for high-volume lab environments — it adds a larger build volume, automatic resin dispensing, and faster material changeovers, making it better suited to batch production of orthodontic models, surgical guides, and denture components.
Which Formlabs dental resins are FDA cleared?
Several Formlabs dental resins carry FDA 510(k) clearance. Dental LT Clear V2 is cleared for long-term removable appliances including occlusal splints and nightguards for patients with TMD or bruxism. Premium Teeth Resin is cleared for crowns, inlays, onlays, veneers, and up to seven-unit temporary bridges. Dental LT Comfort is FDA-cleared for patient-specific appliances such as mouthguards. Always verify current clearance status with Formlabs before clinical use, as regulatory status can change.
Can Formlabs printers use third-party dental resins?
Yes. The Form 4B and Form 4BL support Open Material Mode (OMM), which allows the use of any 405 nm photopolymer resin. Dentsply Sirona's Lucitone Digital Print denture system and Voco's V-Print line have both been validated through OMM. Formlabs also runs a certified materials programme with partners like BEGO, involving cross-testing and optimised print settings. Outside certified materials, you'll need to develop and validate your own print profiles.
How much does it cost to print an occlusal splint in-house with Formlabs Dental?
According to Formlabs, printing an occlusal splint with Dental LT Comfort resin costs $5–$7 in materials and takes two to three hours in-house, compared to $100–$200 and up to seven days when outsourced to a lab. These are vendor-reported figures; actual costs will vary based on your printer amortisation, post-processing consumables, and technician time.
Sources
- 1.Formlabs launches Formlabs Dental, new 3D printer — DrBicuspid
- 2.Formlabs launches 2 new dental resins — DrBicuspid
- 3.Formlabs expands with new dental materials, tools — DrBicuspid
The Digital Dentistry editorial team covers dental technology for practice owners, clinicians and dental labs. Our articles are produced with AI assistance under human editorial governance, fact-checked against cited primary sources, and updated as products and evidence change. See our editorial policy for how we work and how to flag a correction.