Additive Manufacturing Technologies Used for Processing Polymers: Current Status and Potential Application in Prosthetic Dentistry

Abstract

There are 7 categories of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, and a wide variety of materials can be used to build a CAD 3D object. The present article reviews the main AM processes for polymers for dental applications: stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), material jetting (MJ), and material extrusion (ME). The manufacturing process, accuracy, and precision of these methods will be reviewed, as well as their prosthodontic applications.

The potential of additive manufacturing technologies and their processing parameters for the fabrication of all‐ceramic crowns: A review

“…In order to create an object, the print and support filaments must pass through a heated nozzle to be extruded in a layer by layer fashion on a build platform moving in the z‐axis. The nozzle moves in x and y‐directions to design the shape of each cross‐sectional layer, and the material hardens immediately after being extruded from the nozzle (Figure ). ME has been used for the fabrication of dental models as well as surgical guides and templates …”

“…The exponential advancement in computer technology in the past few decades has led to a digital revolution in many industries by automizing the stages involved in production . In the context of dentistry, it simply refers to the elimination of physical handling of specimens and subjecting them to computerized processing . This approach has been termed as “digital workflow,” a collective term that encompasses the three fundamental elements of digital dentistry, namely data acquisition, data processing, and data manufacturing …”

A review on chemical composition, mechanical properties, and manufacturing work flow of additively manufactured current polymers for interim dental restorations

“…The American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials (ASTM) international standard organization establishes technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. The ASTM committee F42 on AM technologies determined 7 AM categories: stereolithography (SLA), material jetting (MJ), material extrusion or fused deposition modeling (FDM), binder jetting, powder bed fusion, sheet lamination, and direct energy deposition . In dentistry, the most commonly used AM methods are SLA and MJ technologies.…”

“…Unlike conventional and CNC manufacturing procedures, AM technologies enable the production of geometries that are otherwise expensive and time consuming to produce or simply not possible to fabricate . In the case of subtractive technologies, access to small spaces is limited and the bur size imposes limitations on the dimensions of a manufactured object . AM technologies also enable the printing of multiple patterns at a time, although the number of patterns will depend on the size of the patterns and the building platform.…”

Workflow description of additively manufactured clear silicone indexes for injected provisional restorations: A novel technique

“…Moreover, open source software provides an inexpensive software that also allows more freedom in design possibilities compared to the dental CAD software. The materialization of the digital design is obtained through the computer aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies, namely subtractive or milling, and additive technologies …”