Trueness of 3D printed partial denture frameworks: build orientations and support structure density parameters

The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of build orientations and density of support structures on the trueness of the 3D printed removable partial denture (RPD) frameworks.

A maxillary Kennedy class III and mandibular class I casts were 3D scanned and used to design and produce two 3D virtual models of RPD frameworks. Using digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing, 47 RPD frameworks were fabricated at 3 different build orientations (100, 135 and 150-degree angles) and 2 support structure densities. All frameworks were scanned and 3D compared to the original virtual RPD models by metrology software to check 3D deviations quantitatively and qualitatively. The accuracy data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA for build orientation comparison and independent sample t-test for structure density comparison at (α = .05). Points study analysis targeting RPD components and representative color maps were also studied.

The build orientation of 135-degree angle of the maxillary frameworks showed the lowest deviation at the clasp arms of tooth 26 of the 135-degree angle group. The mandibular frameworks with 150-degree angle build orientation showed the least deviation at the rest on tooth 44 and the arm of the I-bar clasp of tooth 45. No significant difference was seen between different support structure densities.

Build orientation had an influence on the accuracy of the frameworks, especially at a 135-degree angle of maxillary design and 150-degree of mandibular design. The difference in the support's density structure revealed no considerable effect on the accuracy.