In Vitro Characterisation of 3D Printable Filaments Subjected to Edible Liquids: An Analysis of Fused Deposition Modelling for Intraoral Applicability

Abstract

Purpose. To evaluate the influence of edible liquids on the characteristic properties of 3D printable materials compared to conventionally used dental resin acrylic. Method. Dental polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) specimens were fabricated from preformed molds while polylactic acid (PLA) and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) specimens were 3D printed using fused deposition modelling at 0.1 mm layer thickness. All specimen forms adhered to ISO 37:2017 and ISO 604:2002 specifications. Specimens underwent controlled immersion for 180 hr into different media (no immersion (control), oil, soda, milk, and caffeine). Changes in mass (g), plastic deformity (N/mm2), ultimate tensile stress (N), flexural deformity (N/mm2), and break force (N) were evaluated using analysis of variance. Results. There was an increase in mass for all specimens following immersion with significant interactions between immersion media and the materials. The materials exhibited significant differences in plastic deformity (F (df) = 156.632(2), P  < 0.001), ultimate tensile stress (F (df) = 109.521(2), P  < 0.001), and break force (F (df) = 319.785 (2), P  < 0.001) with no significant interactions with immersion media (P > 0.05) on both accounts. Materials showed no significant differences in flexural deformity (F (df) = 2.693(2), P = 0.074) but with significant interactions (F (df) = 4.984(8), P  < 0.001) between acrylic and immersion media. Conclusion. Commercially available 3D printable PLA and PETG filaments printed at 0.1 mm thickness possess approximately half the mechanical resilience as dental PMMA with comparable flexural deformity after exposure to edible liquids.