On the suitability of photocuring-assisted DIW for manufacturing complex prosthesis from commercial dental composites

A 3-D printing method to produce dental prostheses of complex shapes from a commercial, photocurable resin-ceramic slurry is developed and optimized. The microstructure, mechanical properties and wear behavior of the resulting material are evaluated and compared with a conventional/control sample and other ceramic-polymer dental composites. Commercial resin-ceramic dental slurries can be successfully extruded and appropriately photocured in a low cost 3-D printing system to produce cost-efficient complex dental parts that could be used in indirect restorations. The printing process does not appreciably introduce defects in the material and the 3-D printed composites exhibit mechanical properties (hardness, elastic modulus) and wear resistance comparable to the control material and analogous, conventional dental composites. The main wear mechanisms under sliding contact against a hard antagonist are plastic deformation at the asperity level and ceramic particle pull-out due to filler/matrix interfacial weakness.