Additive manufacturing enabled designs for dental applications: A conceptual study

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM), or commonly also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, has fundamentally changed the way products are designed and manufactured due to its freeform fabrication capabilities. As AM becomes more mainstream and accessible, it is therefore important to adopt new designs, or re-designing approaches, for existing products that would allow parts to be manufactured by these techniques. This study conceptualizes and derives new suitable designs for dental abutment connector used in dental implants and proof of concept is achieved using laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-L/M). The functionality of the design is tested using simulations by running static and cyclic loading to ensure that the new design can withstand a normal human bite force. Design optimization is also conducted by varying design parameters to achieve minimal Von Mises stresses throughout the abutment. Finally, the designs are compared using various design considerations and it is concluded that snap fit design is the most suitable for dental abutment due to ease of use and manufacturability.