Digital designing of a 3D printed stackable ear mold for auricular rehabilitation. A technical note.

Abstract

The present study describes a technique for the virtual design of a three-piece stackable auricular mold for unilateral auricular defect rehabilitation using an open-source software program. An optical intraoral scanner is used to scan the patient's ears on both the affected and unaffected side. To maintain the relationship between the mold parts, a stackable attachment is designed and joined to the mold. The mold is 3D printed in resin. This technique provides the patient with a precise auricular prosthesis with perfect thickness, adaptation, and appearance. The workflow introduced in this technique could be considered as an alternative for the fabrication of auricular prostheses and decreased both the clinical and laboratory time compared to the conventional workflow.