Dental Titans Unite to Make Same-Day Restorations the New Standard

LOS ANGELES, CA – March 11, 2026 – The era of multiple appointments for a single dental crown may be drawing to a close for many patients. SprintRay, a leader in dental 3D printing, today announced a landmark collaboration with industry giants Align Technology, GC America, and Meisinger Dental to launch the Midas World Tour. This global initiative aims to dismantle the barriers to same-day restorative dentistry, potentially making single-visit treatments the new standard of care by combining cutting-edge technology from scanning to final polish into one seamless workflow.

The End of the Waiting Game in Dentistry

For decades, patients needing crowns, inlays, or veneers have endured a multi-step process involving messy impressions, temporary restorations, and a long wait for a dental lab to fabricate the final product. While chairside CAD/CAM milling systems have offered a single-visit alternative for years, their cost and complexity have limited adoption to a smaller segment of dental practices.

Now, a powerful convergence of technologies is poised to change that landscape. The demand is certainly there; market research indicates over 70% of patients prefer the convenience and comfort of single-visit treatments. This collaboration seeks to meet that demand by leveraging the rapid advancements in 3D printing. With adoption rates in the U.S. already approaching 20%, the technology is quickly moving from a niche innovation to a clinical expectation.

"Combining leading technology to offer a best-in-class solution for modern restorative care can play an important role in helping patients understand their oral health and the treatment options doctors can provide," said Sreelakshmi Kolli, Align Technology's executive vice president and Chief Technology and Digital Officer. "By connecting highly-precise intraoral scanning directly into a validated additive workflow, we are creating a more predictable, efficient path from digital impression to final restoration, making same-day care possible."

A Symphony of Specialists: The Integrated Workflow

The power of the Midas initiative lies in its holistic approach. Rather than offering a single product, the collaboration delivers a complete, end-to-end ecosystem where each partner contributes a critical piece of the puzzle. This synergy is designed to eliminate the guesswork and integration challenges that have often slowed the adoption of digital dentistry.

The workflow begins with Align Technology's iTero™ intraoral scanners. These devices create a highly accurate 3D digital map of the patient's mouth, replacing traditional, uncomfortable impression materials and forming the precise digital foundation for the entire process.

This data is then seamlessly transferred to SprintRay's Midas Digital Press. This is where the magic of additive manufacturing happens. Using an AI-powered design studio that can automatically generate a restoration design, the Midas printer fabricates the final crown, inlay, or onlay from a specialized resin capsule. The company claims this process can be completed in under 10 minutes, a revolutionary speed that makes true chairside production a reality. The capsule-based system also simplifies the process immensely, eliminating the messy resin vats and complex setup of traditional 3D printers.

Once printed, the restoration is perfected using materials and protocols from GC America. With over a century of materials science expertise, GC America provides the specialized glazes, bonding agents, and cementation systems to ensure the 3D-printed restoration is not only aesthetically pleasing but also durable and long-lasting. "Our contribution spans the full lifecycle of the restoration," explained Joseph Talanges, President & COO of GC America. "We ensure every 3D printed restoration is completed with confidence."

The final step involves Meisinger Dental, which supplies high-precision rotary instruments. These specialized burs are used by the dentist to prepare the tooth and to perfectly finish and polish the new restoration, ensuring an ideal fit and a natural look.

Democratizing Digital Dentistry for All Practices

A key goal of the Midas World Tour is to make this advanced capability accessible to a much broader range of dental professionals. For years, the high cost of entry and steep learning curve associated with chairside milling systems have been significant barriers.

"This is a category shifting accelerator," stated John Cox, SprintRay Chief Growth Officer. "For years, single-visit restorative dentistry was limited to a small percentage of practices that could afford complex, expensive systems, and learn design. By aligning leaders in scanning, additive manufacturing, and material science around one engineered workflow, we are making that capability attainable for more dentists than ever before."

Industry analysis supports this claim. While high-end CAD/CAM milling setups can cost upwards of $50,000, experts note that a top-tier 3D printing system for same-day dentistry can be acquired for a fraction of that cost. The Midas system's emphasis on automation and simplicity further reduces the financial and operational burden. The AI-driven software automates much of the complex design work, and the capsule-based printer is designed for "scan, load, and print" simplicity, minimizing training time and operational overhead. This shift allows dentists to reduce reliance on external labs, cut costs, and pass those efficiencies on to patients.

Building the Future, One Dentist at a Time

Recognizing that technology alone is not enough, the collaboration has placed education at the very heart of its strategy. The Midas World Tour is not just a product showcase; it is a massive educational undertaking powered by the MOD Institute, a premier center for digital dentistry training.

The tour will span 40 cities across 12 countries, offering immersive, hands-on courses that provide seven continuing education (CE) credits. Attendees will receive detailed instruction on the entire "scan to seat" workflow, from taking a digital impression with the iTero scanner to cementing the final Midas-printed restoration. The program is designed to build the confidence and competence clinicians need to fully integrate these powerful tools into their daily practice.

This focus on practical education is critical for navigating the industry's digital transformation. Dr. Wally Renne, founder of the MOD Institute, put the current moment in stark terms: "3D printing isn't the future. It's right now. The clinicians who master these workflows today will influence the next decade. The rest will watch."