Thank you for your interest in 3D Printed Valplast® Flexible Partials. With a digital workflow now available, Valplast brings you the next level of removable partial dentures, and a valuable addition to your restorative offerings. Valplast® digital services provide you with incredibly precise manufacturing, minimal chair time with the patient, and fast turnaround. Your case files can be uploaded to our portal. We start work as soon as we receive the files and send you a preview to view and approve, and to share with your patient. The future of removables is here now with 3D Printed Valplast® Partials. Getting started is easy!
Valplast Laboratory Services is committed to finding ways to help you reduce your direct contact time with your patients, and to minimize the amount of handling and transportation required to complete your patients’ restorations. Digital Valplast® Partials offer minimal patient contact, minimal handling throughout the process, and much faster completion time. The value is outstanding for you and your patients, and the simplicity, speed, and precision of the results make Valplast® Printed Partials the most exciting innovation yet in removable restorations.
How We Work
At Valplast Laboratory Services, cutting edge technology is the foundation of our service. We offer a convenient portal to start your case, upload your files, preview and approve the design, communicate about your cases, and manage your payments. Simply create an account at digital.valpastlab.com to get started with your first case. We’ll get started on the design right away. Once the preview is available, you will receive a message so you can log back in to approve the design. Upon approval of the design preview we’ll proceed with manufacturing. The case will be sent directly to you for final insertion within a few days. Read on for more detail and to learn about alternative ways to send us cases.
How It Works
Create a new account at digital.valplastlab.com, or log in to your existing account.
Select “New Case” and complete the information for your patient.
You can upload patient photos, scans, and designs (if you prefer to design yourself).
When filling out the new case information for your patient and be sure to include the following:
Select the teeth that you will be replacing from the upper and lower arches
Indicate if this will be an immediate denture. If yes, select the teeth that you will be extracting.
Select the tooth shade using the Vita classical shade guide.
Indicate if there are any abnormal bite conditions present in the arch.
Upload photos of your patient that we will use as part of the design process. We like to have photos of your patient smiling with retraction and smiling without retraction in order to design the denture accordingly.
Choose what type of impressions you will be submitting to Valplast Laboratory Services:
If using digital impressions, follow the prompts to upload your scans to the portal. After uploading your scans you will be able to preview them in the following window.
If using conventional impressions, you will need to send the casts to us before we can proceed. We can send mailing labels for you to send these to us.
Note: Please read the Impression Guidelines section in this document for additional information on the types of scans and impressions that we can accept for case submission.
Please add your shipping address at the bottom of the order.
Complete the Case Submission process by clicking ”Save” on the bottom of the form.
Valplast® Printing in Action
Impression Guidelines
Digital Scans
We accept all STL, DCM (3Shape), OBJ and PLY files sent through the Valplast Laboratory Services online portal. If you do not currently have STL or other export capabilities with your scanner please contact your reseller to add this feature. Intraoral scans and model scans are supported by the Valplast Laboratory Services platform.
Digital Impressions
All digital impressions are supported when scans are provided in any of the above listed formats and meet the following criteria:
● Both the maxillary and mandibular arches can be scanned without powder including teeth and tissues
● The patient’s bite can be scanned by having them occlude in centric relation
● The maxillary and mandibular arch scans can be aligned to the bite in the scanner software before exporting and uploading to our portal
● If you wish to increase the VDO you may do so by using a leaf gauge and scanning the bite. When doing so please note this on the prescription.
● Quadrant impressions are acceptable when prescribing unilateral restorations such as nesbits
● Be sure to capture as much gingival anatomy as possible including free gingiva, alveolar mucosa and vestibular areas. The use of facial retractors will help capture vestibular areas.
Conventional Impressions
For practitioners without scanning capabilities we are pleased to accept conventional dental impressions as an alternative to digital impressions. You may use conventional impression materials that meet the following criteria:
● Only polyvinyl siloxane impression materials should be used. Silicone materials that are marketed as alginate substitutes are preferable as they are flowable and resistant to tear.
Medium and heavy bodied PVS materials should not be used
Polyether materials should not be used
Polysulfide materials should not be used
Alginate materials should only be used if you plan to pour them promptly and scan the gypsum casts yourself for upload to the Valplast Laboratory Services portal.
● Casts should not be prepared from the impressions. We can accept gypsum casts if they are already poured. We prefer to work with impressions directly.
● Border moulding is not required. In some cases a custom impression tray will be recommended to capture a more detailed final impression. We can fabricate this if necessary.
● Be sure to capture as much gingival anatomy as possible including free gingiva, alveolar mucosa and vestibular areas.
What To Send
Flexible Partials and Denture Try-Ins
❏ Digital scan or conventional impression of the preparation arch
❏ Digital scan or conventional impression of the opposing arch
❏ Digital bite registration as an additional scan or physical bite registration from silicone putty
❏ Tooth shade using Vita Classical shade guide
❏ Instructions and design preferences
❏ Photos in smile view and retracted view
Custom Impression Trays
❏ Digital impression or model scan of the preparation arch
Pricing & Turnaround Times
● Redesigns and adjustments made from new impressions/bites/scans billed at the same rate as new cases
● Designs from cases that have been sent previously as a try-in can be reused for the final Valplast® denture and billed at the print & finish rate
Services Offered
Frequently Asked Questions
● What should I use to make adjustments to an Valplast® flexible partial denture?
○ Valplast® Flexible Partials are made from nylon and should be handled differently from dental acrylics. Bullet shaped green stones work well on a low speed handpiece. A Chairside Adjustment Kit (Item 206ADJ) can be ordered from us if you would like the full set of instruments.
● Which cleansers should be used with Valplast®f flexible partial denture?
○ Because of the unique nature of Valplast® material used in flexible partials, conventional tablets and store bought denture cleansers are not very effective solutions. We recommend Val-Clean® Denture Cleanser, specially fomulated for effective home care of Valplast® partials.
● Can Valplast® flexible partials be repaired/relined?
○ Though there are several processes that can be used to repair a Valplast® partial denture, we have found that it is more convenient and cost-effective to reprint and send a duplicate denture if a replacement is needed. We can even add teeth and clasps to previously designed dentures so that your patient never has to go without their teeth!
● Can I order a Valplast® partial denture with a metal frame combo?
○ In our experience there are very few cases that would require the use of a metal subframe in combination with a Valplast® partial denture, and so we do not offer flexible/metal combination partials at this time. This process can be done in special circumstances but will require traditional injection processing of the Valplast® saddle areas.
● Is the appliance under warranty?
○ Yes! Valplast Laboratory Services provides a Limited Warranty that the denture base will not break or fracture for the lifetime of the appliance (assuming normal use). Denture teeth may wear over time under normal use. General workmanship and tooth bonding issues are covered for six months from the date of purchase.
● How long should a patient wear their partial denture for?
○ Valplast® Flexible partials are meant to be worn throughout the day including while eating, drinking and most importantly, smiling! We do recommend taking the appliance out at night and when a patient is brushing their natural teeth and gums.
● Does Valplast Laboratory Services produce wax rims for bite registrations?
○ We do not offer wax occlusal rims for bite records. Digital impressions should include a bite scan with the patient closing in centric relation. Silicone putty can be used to make a bite registration without a baseplate or occlusal rim from the lab. Please include the bite registration with all cases when sending conventional impressions to us for scanning. If an additional bite registration is needed we will recommend a denture try-in which can be used to obtain a corrected bite registration during the try-in appointment.