Accuracy of surgical guides from 2 different desktop 3D printers for computed tomography-guided surgery

Different factors influence the degree of deviation in dental implant position after computed tomography-guided surgery. The surgical guide-manufacturing process with desktop 3D printers is such a factor, but its accuracy has not been fully evaluated.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the deviation in final dental implant position after the use of surgical guides fabricated from 2 different desktop 3D printers using a digital workflow.

Twenty 3D-printed resin models were prepared with missing maxillary premolar. After preoperative planning, 10 surgical guides were produced with a stereolithography printer and 10 with a digital light-processing (DLP) printer. A guided surgery was performed; 20 dental implants (3.8×12 mm) were installed, and a digital scan of the dental implants was made. Deviations between the planned and final position of the dental implants were evaluated for both the groups.

A statistically significant difference between stereolithography and DLP were found for deviation at entry point (P=.023) and the vertical implant position (P=.009). Overall lower deviations were found for the guides from the DLP printer, with the exception of deviation in horizontal implant position.

The tested desktop 3D printers were able to produce surgical guides with similar deviations with regard to the final dental implant position, but the DLP printer proved more accurate concerning deviations at entry point and vertical implant position.