Accuracy of 3-unit fixed dental prostheses fabricated on 3D-printed casts

Statement of problem: Three-dimensional (3D)-printed casts are used successfully as diagnostic casts in orthodontics. However, whether 3D-printed casts are sufficiently accurate to be used as definitive casts for fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) is unclear.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the fit of 3-unit FDPs fabricated on 3D-printed casts made by digital light processing and to investigate the clinical applicability of 3D printing.

Material and methods: A master model was fabricated from epoxy resin. Stone casts were made from dual viscosity impressions (conventional stone cast [CS] group, n=10). The 3D-printed casts were fabricated using a 3D printer after obtaining digital virtual casts by digital scans (3D-printed cast [3DP] group, n=10). All FDPs were fabricated with a 5-axis milling machine. The master model and intaglio surface of the milled FDPs was superimposed using 3D analysis software to measure the accuracy. Two-way ANOVA was performed to identify a significant difference between the groups (3DP and CS) and sides (pontic side, nonpontic side) and their interactive effects (α=.05). The Tukey honestly significant difference test was used for post hoc analysis.

Results: Two-way ANOVA showed significant differences between the 2 groups (3DP and CS) in the marginal and internal root mean square (RMS) values (P<.001). However, no significant difference was found in the marginal RMS values (P=.762) between the pontic and nonpontic sides. The 3DP showed significantly higher RMS values than the CS (P<.001).

Conclusions: The fit of FDPs produced from 3D-printed casts was inferior to that of conventional stone casts; however, all FDPs showed clinically acceptable accuracy. These results suggest that 3D-printed casts have clinical applicability but that further improvement of the 3D printer is necessary for their application in prosthodontics.