The Precision of 3D Printed CAD/CAM Occlusal Splints in Orthognathic Surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To validate the accuracy of orthognathic 3D Printed final occlusal splints produced with in office desktop 3D Printer and comparing the accuracy with the conventional acrylic resin splints.Subjects & Methods: 10 Orthognathic Surgery patients were included in this study. All surgeries were performed by the same Surgeon. Computer virtual planning for Orthognathic Surgery for all cases was performed in Pro- Plan Software version 3.0 (Materialise, Leuven, Belgium) with the proper work flow ending with splint design. Final Splint with 3D Printed with an In Office Desktop Printer (Formlabs), also conventional work up was performed on all cases and acrylic resin conventional splint was fabricated. The final splints were clinically evaluated; also the 3D Printed splint image was superimposed on the virtual splint image and distance errors recorded from 3 landmarks on the upper dental model. This superimposition was repeated with the conventional splint and compared with the virtual splint and distance errors recorded. Results: All final splints (3D Printed and Conventional) accuracy was reflected as clinically acceptable. The distance error (Absolute) ranged from 0.17 – 0.82 mm and an overall mean distance error of 0.44 mm with respect to the 3D Printed splint (Final Splint2) when superimposed on the virtual design splint (Final Splint1). The distance error (Absolute) ranged from 0.26 – 0.75mm and an overall mean distance error of 0.39 mm with respect to the conventional splint when superimposed on the virtual splint (Final Splint1)Conclusion: This study has validated the accuracy of the 3D printed final splint as the mean distance error of 0.44 mm lies within the clinically acceptable range. In addition, the conventional splint design still proved highly accurate with a distance error of 0.39 mm.