Accuracy of chair-side fused-deposition modelling for dental applications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish a chair-side design and production method for a tooth-supported fixed implant guide and to evaluate its accuracy. Design/methodology/approach Three-dimensional (3D) data of the alveolar ridge, adjacent teeth and antagonistic teeth were acquired from models of the edentulous area of 30 patients. The implant guides were then constructed using self-developed computer-aided design software and chair-side fused deposition modelling 3D-printing and positioned on a dental model. A model scanner was used to acquire 3D data of the positioned implant guides, and the overall error was then evaluated. Findings The overall error was 0.599 +/- 0.146 mm (n = 30). One-way ANOVA revealed no statistical differences among the 30 implant guides. The gap between the occlusal surface of the teeth covering and the tissue surface of the implant guide was measured. The maximum gap after positioning of the implant guide was 0.341 mm (mean, 0.179 +/- 0.019 mm). The implanted axes of the printed implant guide and designed guide were compared in terms of overall, lateral and angular error, which were 0.104 +/- 0.004 mm, 0.097 +/- 0.003 mm, and 2.053 degrees +/- 0.017 degrees, respectively. Originality/value The results of this study demonstrated that the accuracy of a new chair-side tooth-supported fixed implant guide can satisfy clinical requirements.