Surface Morphology of Three-Dimensionally Printed Replicas of Upper Dental Arches

Abstract

The aim of our study was to analyze the precision of fused-deposition modeling (FDM), polyjet technology (PJ), stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) and to evaluate some interesting indications of these methods in clinical practice. Forty upper dental arches were scanned using a 3Shape Trios 3R optical scanner system and 3D models were made. An Atos II 400 optical 3D scanner was used for calculating the coordinates of points by optical triangulation, photogrammetry and fringe projection. Each model was scanned from a minimum of 56 positions to evaluate global coordinates. Surface morphology was evaluated with an Alpha Step IQ profilometer and a JSM 5510 LV scanning electron microscope. From the measurements in cross-sections it was evident that the deviation shifted by approximately 0.1 mm. The smoothest and most homogeneous sample was SLA. SLS and SLA samples showed the most similar results in comparison of perpendicular directions (homogeneity). FDM and PJ materials exhibited significantly greater roughness in the printing direction than in the perpendicular one, which is most likely caused by the technology selected and/or print parameters. Clinical applications have demonstrated unusual treatment options for patients with rare diseases.