Comparative Evaluation of Accuracy of Three-Dimensional Printed Casts, Digital Casts and Conventional Casts: An In Vitro Study

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this invitro study was to evaluate the accuracy of the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) printed cast, digital cast and conventional stone cast.

Material and methods: In this in vitrostudy, a typodont of maxillary and mandibular arches with full dentate ivory teeth was used as a reference cast. The typodont was digitized using 3D shining intraoral scanner to create digital casts. The digital files were converted into 3D printed physical casts using a prototyping machine that uti¬lizes the stereolithography printing technology and photocurable polymer as printing material. Linear measurements (mesiodistal and occlusocervical) and interarch mea¬surements (intercanine and intermolar) were made for conventional stone casts, digital and prototyped models and were compared with the typodont model. The reference teeth were canines, first molar and first premolars in the maxillary and mandibular arches on the right and left sides. The measurements on printed and conventional casts were done by digital caliper while on digital casts; Geomagic Qualify software was used.

Results:Conventional dental stone casts showed significantly higher error than the otherthree groups in all linear and interarch measurements. No statistical differences (p>0.05) were seen for the digital casts made using intraoral scanner and digital casts made using desktop scanner.

Conclusion: The linear and interarch measurements made on the three-dimensional printed casts were significantly more accurate followed by digital casts and least by conventional dental stone casts.