Trueness and precision of digital light processing fabricated 3D printed monolithic zirconia crowns

Abstract

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the trueness and precision of monolithic zirconia crowns (MZCs) fabricated by 3D printing and milling techniques.

Methods: A premolar crown was designed after scanning a prepared typodont. Twenty MZCs were fabricated using milling and 3D-printing techniques (n = 10). All the specimens were scanned with an industrial scanner, and the scanned data were analyzed using 3D measurement software to evaluate the trueness and precision of each group. Root mean square (RMS) deviations were measured and statistically analyzed (One-way ANOVA, Tukey's, p ≤ 0.05).

Results: The trueness of the printed MZC group (140 ± 14 μm) showed a significantly higher RMS value compared to the milled MZCs (96 ± 27 μm,p < 0.001). At the same time, the precision of the milled MZCs (61 ± 17 μm) showed a significantly higher RMS value compared to that of the printed MZCs (31 ± 5 μm,p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The Fabrication techniques had a significant impact on the accuracy of the MZCs. Milled MZCs showed the highest trueness, while printed MZCs showed the highest precision. All the results were within the clinically acceptable error values.

Clinical significance: Although the trueness of the milled MZCs is higher, the manufacturing accuracy of the 3D-printed MZCs showed clinically acceptable results in terms of trueness and precision. However, additional clinical studies are recommended. Furthermore, the volumetric changes of the material should be considered.

Keywords: 3D printing; Accuracy; Milling; Monolithic zirconia crowns (MZCs); Precision; Trueness.