Additive Manufacturing Techniques of Modern Digital Dentistry

In modern society, it is increasingly important to pay attention to healthy and aesthetic appearance. Orthodontic treatment can improve the position of teeth and jaw. A distinction was made between functional orthodontic and dentoalveolar therapies. Currently, various materials are used to produce brackets. In addition to conventional metal brackets made of steel, titanium, or gold, tooth-colored plastic brackets made of polycarbonate and ceramic brackets made of aluminum or zirconium oxide are used. [1, 2] The progressive development of CAD/CAM technology in recent years has opened new possibilities for computer-assisted orthodontic diagnostics and planning for dentoalveolar therapy. [3, 4] The aim of this study was to manufacture plastic brackets for fixed braces using simple additive production. For this purpose, a bracket sample was designed and produced with a filament printer (FDM-Fused Deposition Modelling) Ultimaker S3 (Ultimaker B.V., Watermolenweg 24191 PN Gel-dermalsen). The construction and design were created using CAD software (SolidWorks2021) and transferred to 3D printer’s proprietary slicing software (Cura Version 4.12.0, Ultimaking ltd.). By adjusting the parameters (printing speed, temperature, etc.), it is possible to adapt the printed components. The printed miniature components were then optically and physically tested and analyzed.