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Contact Lens & Dental Manufacturing

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Contact lens with sensor in middle held on fingertip.
Dental milling machine carving out teeth of dental prosthetic form.

Contact lens and dental manufacturing are rapidly evolving disciplines using material and manufacturing innovations to improve ophthalmic and oral health. Partner with us to source quality raw materials and obtain supply chain security from scale-up through production with flexible bulk and customization options.  

Contact Lens Manufacturing

Contact lenses are ophthalmic prosthetic devices used for vision correction, therapeutics, and cosmetic applications. Contact lens are typically produced from polymer- or silicone-hydrogel materials due to their enhanced oxygen and water permeability. Material selection also influences surface smoothness, UV radiation absorption, and resistance to tearing and surface defects. Precision manufacturing technologies have enabled further tailoring of contact lens properties, including molding processes, lathe cutting, and plasma processing. To alleviate adverse effects from infection and inflammation and improve consumer comfort and safety, research is currently focused on developing new monomers, polymer chemistries, and manufacturing methods.  

Dental Manufacturing

Dental medicine aims to manage oral health, combat and treat oral disease, and correct teeth and jaw misalignment. Dental manufacturing utilizes diverse solid-state and polymeric syntheses, processing, and surface functionalization methods to fabricate materials, products, and equipment used in dentistry. Fillings, caps, crowns, and bridges are made from resin-based composites; glass ionomers and alloys are used for restorative dentistry applications. Dental impressions use alginate materials to form accurate negative molds for 3D models of teeth and soft tissues. Aesthetic dental care applications include teeth bleaching with peroxide compounds and porcelain veneer bonding to teeth with light-cured resin cements.

Research in dental materials is focused on next-generation monomers to enhance flexibility, durability, biocompatibility, and antimicrobial properties. Utilizing computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), custom-fitted dentures, dental implants, and orthodontic devices, can now be made quickly and inexpensively using 3D printing.   

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