Comparative laboratory study of 3D printed denture base resin materials

Several 3-dimensionally (3D) printed denture base resin materials designed for removable dentures and maxillofacial prostheses have recently been introduced, but studies on their properties are lacking.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to assess the degree of conversion (DC%), Vickers hardness (VHN), crosslinking density (CD), tensile strength (TS), surface roughness (SR), and wettability (W) of two 3D printed denture base materials in comparison with a heat-polymerized polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) control.

Disk- (Ø15×3 mm) and dumbbell-shaped (International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 527-1 standard) specimens of two 3D printed denture base materials (V Print-dentbase) and (Optiprint Laviva) were printed, and PMMA specimens (Acrypol fast) were used as the control. DC% (n=5) was measured by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, VHN and CD (n=10) with a Vickers hardness tester, and TS (including modulus of elasticity-E and elongation-e, n=10) using a universal testing machine. SR parameters (Sa, Sq, Sz, Sdr, Sc, Sv, n=10) were measured with an optical profiler and water contact angles (θ) (apparent/θm and Young/θy, n=10) with a contact angle goniometer. Data were analyzed with t tests, the Mann-Whitney Rank Sum test, and 1-way ANOVA (α=.05).

For DC%, the control was greater than the VP-dentbase (P<.05), with the other groups being statistically similar (P>.05). For VHN, the ranking was OP>VP and AF. Differences in CD were not significant. For TS and E the ranking was VP, AF>OP, with differences between VP and AF not significant. ε was zero for all materials. For SR parameters, the ranking was OPAF (for Sdr). No significant differences were found in θm and θy among the materials or between θm and θy per material (P>.05).

The different chemical compositions of the 3DPs resulted in significant differences in some of the tested properties.