College Student Builds Own Braces With 3D Printer: PHOTOS

When the idea of 3-D printing his own set of braces first came to Amos Dudley, he had three goals in mind.

He wanted to “save money”… make himself happier… and “stick it to the dental appliance industry.”

Using nothing but his own ingenuity – and the top-notch 3-D printing lab at his school - Dudley, a 24-year-old student at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, managed to create a set of DIY plastic aligners for less than $60.

The components that led to the final product included:

• Knowledge of orthodontic movement
• A 3-D scanner
• A mold of the teeth
• CAD software
• A hi-res 3D printer
• Retainer material
• A vacuum forming machine

Rolling up his sleeves, Dudley used the equipment at his school to scan and print models of his choppers, then molded non-toxic plastic around them.

When the dust had settled, Dudley was left with a set of clear orthodontic aligners reportedly similar to name brand products such as Invisalign and ClearCorrect, which can cost up to $8,000.

Not content to dwell in the realm of theory, Dudley is putting his money where his mouth is; he’s been wearing his new, homemade orthodontics for the past 17 weeks.

Dudley detailed the thought process that led to the creation of his new braces in a blog entry titled “Orthoprint, or How I Open-Sourced My Face.”

“I had an amazing realization last year- I wasn’t smiling, and it was because I was unhappy with my teeth,” Dudley wrote. “They weren’t awful, but they were crooked enough to make me self-conscious. It’s very hard to smile when doing so makes you self-conscious about your teeth every single time.”

While researching expensive aligner treatment options, Dudley came across a photo of a set of clear braces that caught his eye and gave him the insight that laid the groundwork for his unique orthodontics.

“Those look like the layer striations from a 3D print,” Dudley realized.

Ironically, his status as a financially strapped university student at a top-flight tech school gave Dudley just the push that he needed to give his idea a shot.

“At the time of writing this, I’m an undergrad, which means that I’m broke, and I have access to expensive digital fabrication tools… definitely an unusual dichotomy,” Dudley stated.

According to the digital design major – who is hoping to land a career doing 3-D modeling or environment art – the DIY braces are working just fine.

“They’re much more comfortable than braces, and fit my teeth quite well,” he wrote. “I was pleased to find, when I put the first one on, that it only seemed to put any noticeable pressure on the teeth that I planned to move… a success. I’ve been wearing them all day and all night for 16 weeks, only taking them out to eat.”

Dudley stated that he’s planning on fabricating a bunch of retainers for the current position, which he says that he can use at night “until he dies.”

His new orthodontics also happen to work well as whitening trays when trimmed down a little, Dudley said.

“They’re also fantastic night guards… They’ve been protecting my teeth from nighttime grinding, without being bulky,” he wrote.

And in the end, his grin is worth the trouble it took to manufacture the fix.

“I feel like I can freely smile again,” Dudley summarized. “That’s what’s most important.”

Still, although he’s willing to put his own smile on the line, Dudley cautioned against trying this at home.

“Do not attempt anything written here,” he stated explicitly on his blog. “I assume no liability for any actions you take to modify your body. If you want to lose your lunch, search Google to see how amateur wire braces can go horribly wrong.”

Photos courtesy of Amos Dudley, via amosdudley.com