Intraoral scanner and stereographic 3D print in dentistry—quality and accuracy of model—new laser application in clinical practice

Abstract

3D print techniques in dentistry have started to become an everyday part of clinical practice. The aim of our study was 3D objectification of stereolithography system (SLA) printed models, including surface analysis. Our investigated group consisted of 50 scans of upper dental arches of medical students obtained by 3Shape TRIOS 3 ® in the form of standard template library (STL) files. SLA 3D printer-built layers of an upper dental arch model were made by using liquid polymer hardened by laser beam (blue 405 nm laser). Each 3D SLA model was scanned from 56 positions and a section to check the precision of reconstruction. The model surface was evaluated with a profilometer, scanning electron microscope, and stereomicroscope. Differences between the intraoral scanned digital STL models and 3D SLA prints were very small, namely in hundredths of mm, and in many cases, they were also significant at lower levels. Stereolithography prepared fine-grained structures, the models were more homogeneous and smoother, and soft layering remains were visible if compared with plaster grainy surface structure showing sharp edges of orthorhombic crystals. The study has shown the precision of 3D SLA models along all three axes, a, b, c, in the whole model volume and also in cross-section. The advantages for dentistry are the colors: white, yellow and light brown; SLA models are stable and can be used repeatedly. In addition, a virtual database of models can save space in the dental office or lab.

Accuracy of 3-Dimensionally Printed Full-Arch Dental Models: A Systematic Review

“…Excluded studies either did not assess full-arch dental model [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ] or were not published in English [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Three additional studies were later removed as they assessed and compared the accuracy of different intraoral scanners [ 5 , 31 , 32 ]. In addition, one study [ 33 ] was excluded as it was a published abstract.…”

Surface Morphology of Three-Dimensionally Printed Replicas of Upper Dental Arches

“…Disadvantages of these traditional methods are the possible loss of quality due to, e.g., abrasion, attrition and transport and storage problems. On the other hand, the digital impression process using intraoral [6,15,20] scan can be resulted in loss of information. The printing is more precise, prepare long term stable material, but the time of printing is longer.…”

“…For clinical practice, the optimal size of models is equally important [15] as precise reproducibility of the surface and the shape of the dental arch in cross-section. The aim of our study was to evaluate this 3D SLA model precision in comparison with models from FDM, PJ and SLS.…”

Intraoral scanner and stereographic 3D print in prosthodontics: three-year evaluation of in vitro and in vivo approaches

“…The 3D SLA print, compared to a gypsum model, offers far greater accuracy 9 . A previous study 8 utilizing scanning electron microscopy revealed that plaster models exhibited a grainy surface structure with sharp edges of orthorhombic crystals, while SLA surfaces were more homogeneous and smoother, with only residual layering polymer visible. The significance lies not only in the measurements of the models but also in their surface quality.…”