Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing method in which a 3D item is formed by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are machines that produce representations of objects either planned with a CAD program or scanned with a 3D scanner. Printing is a method for replicating text and pictures, typically with ink on paper. We can print different dental pieces using different methods such as selective laser sintering (SLS), stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, and laminated object manufacturing. The materials are certified for printing individual impression trays, orthodontic models, gingiva mask, and different prosthetic objects. The material can reach a flexural strength of more than 80 MPa. 3D printing takes the effectiveness of digital projects to the production phase. Dental laboratories are able to produce crowns, bridges, stone models, and various orthodontic appliances by methods that combine oral scanning, 3D printing, and CAD/CAM design. Modern 3D printing has been used for the development of prototypes for several years, and it has begun to find its use in the world of manufacturing. Digital technology and 3D printing have significantly elevated the rate of success in dental implantology using custom surgical guides and improving the quality and accuracy of dental work.

Dental adhesives are used in a wide range of applications, including to place direct composite restorations in frontal or posterior teeth. One of the most frequent causes for the failure of composite resin restorations is microleakages. The first aim of this work is to introduce a new type of self-etched dental adhesive doped with magnetic nanoparticles (MPs) synthetized in the laboratory. The scope is to produce adhesives with a minimized width/thickness to decrease the risk of microleakages. The second aim is to assess the width/thickness of the adhesive layer in all the characteristic areas of the teeth using both the less precise but most common optical microscopy and the more accurate and volumetric micro-Computed Tomography (CT) investigations. Twenty extracted teeth have been divided into four groups: Group 1 includes ‘blank’ samples with adhesives that are not doped with MPs; Group 2 includes samples with adhesives doped with MPs; Groups 3 and 4 include samples with adhesives doped with MPs that are subjected to an active magnetic field for 5 and 10 min, respectively. Microscopy investigations followed by micro-CT and EDAX are performed on the adhesive. While a rather good agreement is obtained between the microscopy and micro-CT results, the capability of the latter to offer a full volumetric reconstruction of the layer is exploited to analyze the adhesion of the four considered dental materials. Thus, from micro-CT results the graphs of the surface areas as functions of the adhesive layer width are modeled mathematically, as well as the volume of sealants, for each of the four groups. To our knowledge, it is the first time that such a methodology is used. Characteristic parameters are extracted and the ascertainment of the optimal parameter that should be utilized for such assessments is discussed. The study demonstrates the adhesion improvement produced for Groups 3 and 4, where MPs are used. It also concludes that the magnetic field should be applied to the adhesive material for the longest possible exposure time (with a trade-off with the clinical duration of the treatment).

Digital imprint and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) systems offer several benefits compared to traditional techniques. The use of a CAD/CAM system to scan preparations and generate restorations in-office, removes a second appointment for the patient. The existence of precision benefits in using complete systems and chairside scanning systems, has been proven. CAD/CAM restorations have a good longevity and meet the accepted clinical parameters. New digital impression methods are presently accessible, and before long, the long-awaited goal of sparing patients of one the most unpleasant practices in clinical dentistry, acquiring dental impressions, will be exchanged by intraoral digital scanning. CAD/CAM systems existing nowadays, can feed data through accurate digital scans created from plaster models, straight to manufacturing systems that can shape ceramic or resin restorations with no requirement of a physical copy of the prepared, adjacent, and antagonist teeth.

In most patients with complete or partially stretched edentations requiring a dental implant, there is insufficient alveolar bone for a proper morpho- functional prosthetic restoration. Therefore, in many cases a bone addition is required for the implant treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate ex-vivo, with numerical simulations, a large mandibular bone defect that is restored by using a three-dimensional (3D) printed ceramic scaffold. In order to obtain a proper morphological and functional prosthetic restoration, a thick mandibular bone is utilized for the implant treatment. The polymeric scaffold is attached to the mandibular bone with one, two, or three implants. By scanning the mandible with MicroScribe 3G and then employing a Finite Element Analysis (FEA) with Pro/Engineer and ANSYS 15, the study performs a numerical simulation and thus assesses the effects of the force applied to the scaffold.

The aim of this study was to achieve a polymeric scaffold, ex-vivo, using 3D printing technology and then subjecting it to various tests to check its optimal property. Initially there was selected a lower jaw with a bone defect that would have prevented any treatment based prosthetic implant. The mandible was first scanned using an optical scanner (MAESTRO DENTAL SCANNER MDS400). The scanning parameters using optical scanning system are: 10 micron accuracy, resolution 0.07 mm, 2 rooms with High-Resolution LED structured light, two axes. The scan time of the mandible was 4-5 min. Later the same mandible was scanned using CBCT�s CRANEX 3DX. The images obtained using CBCT�s were correlated with those obtained by optical scanning. Further on, there was achieved the digital design of the future scaffold with the conventional technique of wax addition directly on the mandibular bone defect. After that, this was again scanned using scanning system MAESTRO DENTAL SCANNER MDS400, and using CBCT�s CRANEX 3DX. The images obtained were correlated with all the scanned images of original mandible bone defects. There were made two polymeric scaffolds using 3D printing system an (D20 Digital Wax System 3D Printer). After printing, scaffold sites were introduced for 30 minutes in an oven curing. Later the pieces obtained were processed to remove small excesses of work. There were obtained 3 blocks of polymers that have a good adaptation to the bone profile. Often, in oral implantology and maxillofacial surgery appear bone defects. They prevent an optimal treatment of bio-functional and aesthetic restoration. Using 3D printing technology one can achieve scaffold sites of different biocompatible materials that have optimal properties to replace bone defect and restore the defective area. These scaffold sites have an intimate adaptation to the defect. 3D printing techniques used to restore bone defects can quickly and efficiently give the possibility to have a successful implantology prosthetics treatment.