Case Study: Protec Dental Laboratories achieves 50% increase in daily night-guard production and 66% reduction in labor with Carbon

Protec Dental Converts To Directly Fabricated Night Guard Production With Carbon® Platform

Protec Dental Laboratories faced a scaling challenge: for over 20 years its orthodontic department produced ProFlex night guards with a labor-intensive analog workflow that couldn’t keep up with growing demand. After experimenting with 3D printing, Protec chose Carbon for its reliability, subscription-based support, and Digital Light Synthesis™ technology to move toward a predictable, service-backed digital manufacturing solution.

Working with Carbon, Protec became the first North American lab to directly 3D print night guards (ProFlex 3D) on Carbon M2 printers using Keystone Industries’ biocompatible KeySplint Soft® Clear, simplifying the process to design, print, and polish. The Carbon solution cut internal turnaround by two days, increased daily production by 50%, reduced labor per night guard by 66%, freed bench space, and delivered higher clinician and patient satisfaction.

Protec Dental Laboratories

Jeff Player

Managing Partner of Orthodontics