Current status and applications of additive manufacturing in dentistry: A literature-based review

To study the current status and applications of additive manufacturing (AM) in dentistry along with various technologies, benefits and future scope.

A significant number of relevant research papers on the additive manufacturing application in dentistry are identified through Scopus and studied using bibliometric analysis that shows an increasing trend of research in this field. This paper briefly describes various types of AM technologies with their accuracy, pros and cons along with different dental materials. Paper also discusses various benefits of AM in dentistry and steps used to create 3D printed dental model using this technology. Further, ten major AM applications in dentistry are identified along with primary references and objectives.

Additive manufacturing is an innovative technique moving towards the customised production of dental implants and other dental tools using computer-aided design (CAD) data. This technology is used to manufacture elaborate dental crowns, bridges, orthodontic braces and can also various other models, devices and instruments with lesser time and cost. With the help of this disruptive innovation, dental implants are fabricated accurately as per patient data captured by the dental 3D scanner. The application of this technology is also being explored for the precise manufacturing of removal prosthetics, aligners, surgical templates for implants and produce models that for the planning of treatment and preoperative positioning of the jaws.