News

Clinical Trial Finds 3D Printed Dentures Are Preferred To Conventional Cast Metal Dentures

Clinical Trial Finds 3D Printed Dentures Are Preferred To Conventional Cast Metal Dentures
by Corey Clarke

Research has been conducted into the viability of 3D printed removable partial dentures (RPD) in comparison to conventionally cast metal RPDs.

The outcome of the month-long clinical trial demonstrated that not only were the 3D printed dentures a viable solution – but that they were preferred overall. For the study, the researchers used a selective laser melting 3D printer to create dentures to compare with a control group of cast metal dentures.

The participants, who all suffered from edentulism, meaning they were toothless in some degree, were selected randomly to use each denture for different periods over the 30 day trial.

The research was conducted at McGill University in Montreal, with support from the University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and King Saud University of Saudi Arabia.

More accurate

The research paper explains the purpose of the trial was to prove the viability of 3D printing as a viable production method in dentistry. The researchers explain the selective laser melting (SLM) AM technique, which involves melting metal powder with lasers, is beneficial to casting methods as it is less prone to error. 3D printing the RPD involves 3D scanning the patient’s mold and designing the prosthesis with CAD software. The design is then sent digitally to the 3D printer machine and with more reliance on digital manufacturing, the team believes the process is more accurate and at lower risk of human error.

Read full article on 3DPrinting Industry.