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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.