Accuracy assessment of 3D-printed tooth replicas

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Dental Technology
• 3D Printing Applications

Background:

• Individual tooth replicas are crucial for dental applications such as tooth autotransplantation and root analogue implants.
• These applications necessitate a high degree of precision in replica fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and evaluate a method for fabricating precise, individual 3D-printed tooth replicas.
• To assess the accuracy of 3D-printed tooth replicas for dental applications.

Main Methods:

• Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were obtained from 10 patients undergoing wisdom tooth extraction.
• 3D Slicer software was used for tooth segmentation and model generation from CBCT data.
• Selective laser melting (SLM) was employed to manufacture the 3D-printed tooth replicas, followed by surface deviation analysis using CloudCompare software.

Main Results:

• The mean absolute surface deviation between 3D-printed replicas and extracted teeth ranged from 0.13 to 0.25 mm.
• 95% of measured surface points deviated less than 0.474 mm, indicating high accuracy.
• The selective laser melting (SLM) technique demonstrated high precision with a mean absolute deviation of 0.045 mm.

Conclusions:

• A highly accurate method for producing 3D-printed tooth replicas from CBCT data has been established.
• The developed method is suitable for creating replicas for tooth autotransplantation and root analogue implants.
• The study confirms the potential of 3D printing in advanced dental procedures.