Chairside 3D digital design and trial restoration workflow

Different digital tools have been used in clinical practice to assist in the planning and rehabilitation of patients. Some applications (apps) and software programs used in esthetic planning allow simulation of the smile design, improving communication between patients and professionals. Nonetheless, they are usually difficult to use, time-consuming, unattractive to present to the patient, and complicated to link with the 3D workflow. This article presents a new 3D digital smile design app for esthetic planning, smile simulation, chairside 3D virtual wax pattern, and trial restoration performed with portable devices. In this technique description, a facial frontal photograph, a facial scan standard tessellation language (STL) file, and a maxillary intraoral scan STL file were uploaded to the app. The files were calibrated to each other to allow a 3D facially driven smile design project. The definitive maxillary 3D digital waxing of facial templates was exported to a 3D printer as an STL file. The printed resin templates were directly placed in the mouth with flowable composite resin for an immediate trial restoration without the need for casts, silicone guides, or autopolymerizing resin. The workflow presented in this article linked the 3Dapp project to a printer and allowed straightforward chairside trial restorations.