Both immediate and conventional single-implant treatment in the anterior maxilla can yield satisfactory aesthetic outcomes, when performed by experienced clinicians in well-selected cases. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.

This prospective 3-year follow-up clinical study evaluated the survival and success rates of 3DP/AM titanium dental implants to support single implant-supported restorations. After 3 years of loading, clinical, radiographic, and prosthetic parameters were assessed; the implant survival and the implant-crown success were evaluated. Eighty-two patients (44 males, 38 females; age range 26–67 years) were enrolled in the present study. A total of 110 3DP/AM titanium dental implants (65 maxilla, 45 mandible) were installed: 75 in healed alveolar ridges and 35 in postextraction sockets. The prosthetic restorations included 110 single crowns (SCs). After 3 years of loading, six implants failed, for an overall implant survival rate of 94.5%; among the 104 surviving implant-supported restorations, 6 showed complications and were therefore considered unsuccessful, for an implant-crown success of 94.3%. The mean distance between the implant shoulder and the first visible bone-implant contact was 0.75 mm (±0.32) and 0.89 (±0.45) after 1 and 3 years of loading, respectively. 3DP/AM titanium dental implants seem to represent a successful clinical option for the rehabilitation of single-tooth gaps in both jaws, at least until 3-year period. Further, long-term clinical studies are needed to confirm the present results.

This study aimed to evaluate the surface and pulp temperature rises when teeth are irradiated with Er,Cr:YSGG laser at low fluences, with or without a photosensitizer. It was chosen 81 third molar human teeth which were randomly divided into six groups, according to the Er,Cr:YSGG laser fluences (2.8 J/cm 2 , 5.6 J/cm 2 , and 8.5 J/cm 2 ) and the recovering or not of a photosensitizer (a thin layer of coal paste) over enamel surfaces. All samples were irradiated without coolant. The surface temperatures and heat propagation were recorded by thermographic camera, and the pulpal temperatures were registered by type-K thermocouples. After laser irradiation, enamel surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The intrapulpal temperature increases were below the threshold for pulp damages (5.6• C), and they were dependent on the fluence applied. The surface recovering with coal paste significantly reduced the intrapulpal temperature increments in 8.5 J/cm 2 samples. The coal paste also influenced the surface temperatures, which reached 222.6• C when samples were irradiated at fluence of 8.5 J/cm 2 . The SEM analysis revealed a micro-ablation pattern for all fluences tested. The photosensitizer was efficient for reducing heat transfer to the pulp chamber, increasing laser absorption into the enamel. The fluences of 8.5 J/cm 2 was able to achieve surface temperature rises that suggest crystallographic changes on enamel, which could propitiate an increase of acid-resistance of enamel. Maximum pulpal temperature rises during laser irradiation detected by thermocouples (mean and standard error). Means followed by distinct letters are statistically different by the Tukey test (p < 0.05)

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a valuable tool in the production of complexes structures with specific shapes for tissue engineering. Differently from native tissues, the printed structures are static and do not transform their shape in response to different environment changes. Stimuli-responsive biocompatible materials have emerged in the biomedical field due to the ability of responding to other stimuli (physical, chemical, and/or biological), resulting in microstructures modifications. Four-dimensional (4D) printing arises as a new technology that implements dynamic improvements in printed structures using smart materials (stimuli-responsive materials) and/or cells. These dynamic scaffolds enable engineered tissues to undergo morphological changes in a pre-planned way. Stimuli-responsive polymeric hydrogels are the most promising material for 4D bio-fabrication because they produce a biocompatible and bioresorbable 3D shape environment similar to the extracellular matrix and allow deposition of cells on the scaffold surface as well as in the inside. Subsequently, this review presents different bioresorbable advanced polymers and discusses its use in 4D printing for tissue engineering applications.

This study investigated changes in the roughness parameters (Sa in μm(2) and Ra in μm) of yttrium-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) and large-grit sandblasted acid-etched (SLA) titanium (TI) materials after decontamination by erbium chromium-doped:yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser irradiation. Twenty disks were analyzed in this study: 10 disks of Y-TZP (5 mm in diameter and 3 mm in height), standardized with CAD-CAM procedures, and 10 disks of SLA TI (5 mm in diameter and 4 mm in thickness). Disks were randomized into four groups (n = 5), according to whether laser irradiation was performed: Y-TZP_G1 and TI_G1 were not treated by laser (control groups), whereas Y-TZP_G2 and TI_G2 were irradiated with Er,Cr:YSGG laser (1.5 W/20 Hz, air-water cooling proportion of 80%/25%). The surface topography of the disks was analyzed by confocal light microscopy. The mean Sa and Ra values were calculated from five profiles from each group. The results were statistically analyzed by t-test at the 95% confidence level (α = 0.05). For Y-TZP, the Sa results (in mean ± SD) for Y-TZP_G1 and Y-TZP_G2 were 2.60 ± 1.1 and 0.80 ± 0.17 μm(2), respectively, and the Ra results were 2.01 ± 0.71 and 0.18 ± 0.15 μm, respectively (both p < .05). For SLA TI, the Sa results for TI_G1 and TI_G2 were 1.99 ± 0.5 and 3.37 ± 0.75 μm(2), respectively, and the Ra results were 1.78 ± 0.53 and 3.84 ± 0.63 μm, respectively (both p < .05). Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation alters the surface roughness of zirconia and SLA TI.