A New Leap in Periodontics: Three-dimensional (3D) Printing

Abstract

Dentistry is truly a great profession and recently it is coming to the terms of use of technology and tech-savvy dentists, who nowadays use smart devices to make their life easier. Researchers are constantly innovating to integrate technology into dentistry. Of all the latest technological innovations in dentistry, the most talked about innovations are threedimensional (3D) printing and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), which have made the treatment planning and execution a whole lot easier. Three-dimensional printing like CBCT has been gaining much popularity in the masses. Three-dimensional printing technologies are evolving rapidly in the recent years and can be used with a wide array of different materials. In addition to rapid prototyping, the dominant use in the past, they are now being used in all manner of manufacturing applications in a diversity of industries such as sports goods, fashion items such as jewelry and necklaces to aerospace components, tools for automobile industry, and medical implants also in dentistry for producing models, making scaffolds, etc. In future, 3D printing has ability to change the way many products are manufactured and produced and bring an era of 'personal manufacturing'. This article introduces 3D printing and gives little information about the technology behind the working of 3D printers. It also gives information about the applications of 3D printers and materials most often used for 3D printed scaffolds for periodontal regeneration.

Exosomes and exosome composite scaffolds in periodontal tissue engineering

“…This adaptable approach enables the development of tailored scaffolds to address specific challenges in periodontal tissue engineering ( Zhuang et al, 2019 ). The main advantage of 3D printing is that it sets parameters precisely at the stage of production, allowing the physical support of a 3D structure very similar to the extracellular matrix to be created under physiological conditions ( Patel et al, 2017 ).…”

Influence of Materials Properties on Bio-Physical Features and Effectiveness of 3D-Scaffolds for Periodontal Regeneration

“…The 3D-printed scaffolds are probably the most promising ones in periodontal tissue regeneration, to date. The main advantage of this procedure is the possibility to set accurately the parameters during the production phases, thus allowing the realization of a physical support with a 3D architecture similar to the extracellular matrix in physiological conditions [ 91 ]. Indeed, this technique can be managed by using a suitable software, which allows a fine control of several parameters during the production [ 92 , 93 ], and it is (to date) the only one able to ensure an effective scaffold “multiphasic” configuration that reflects the complexity of periodontal tissues [ 94 , 95 ].…”