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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Preliminary Investigation on the Geometric Accuracy

of 3D Printed Dental Implant Using a Monkey Maxilla

Incisor Model

Yuchun Liu , Swee Leong Sing , Rebecca Xin En Lim , Wai Yee Yeong , Bee Tin Goh 1,2,5 *
1
4
1,2
3
1 National Dental Research Institute Singapore, National Dental Centre Singapore, Singapore
2 Oral Health Academic Clinical Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
4 Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore
5 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, National Dental Centre Singapore, Singapore

Abstract: Additive manufacturing has proven to be a viable alternative to conventional manufacturing methodologies for metallic
implants due to its capability to customize and fabricate novel and complex geometries. Specific to its use in dental applications,
various groups have reported successful outcomes for customized root-analog dental implants in preclinical and clinical studies.
However, geometrical accuracy of the fabricated samples has never been analyzed. In this article, we studied the geometric
accuracy of a 3D printed titanium dental implant design against the tooth root of the monkey maxilla incisor. Monkey maxillas
were scanned using cone-beam computed tomography, then segmentation of the incisor tooth roots was performed before the
fabrication of titanium dental implants using a laser powder bed fusion (PBF) process. Our results showed 68.70% ± 5.63 accuracy
of the 3D printed dental implant compared to the actual tooth (n = 8), where main regions of inaccuracies were found at the tooth
apex. The laser PBF fabrication process of the dental implants showed a relatively high level of accuracy of 90.59% ± 4.75
accuracy (n = 8). Our eventual goal is to develop an accurate workflow methodology to support the fabrication of patient-specific
3D-printed titanium dental implants that mimic patients’ tooth anatomy and fit precisely within the socket upon tooth extraction.
This is essential for promoting primary stability and osseointegration of dental implants in the longer term.

Keywords: Additive manufacturing; 3D printing; Segmentation; Root-analog dental implant; Maxilla incisor; Monkey
model; Computed tomography

*Correspondence to: Bee Tin Goh, National Dental Research Institute Singapore, National Dental Centre Singapore, Singapore; goh.bee.tin@
singhealth.com.sg
Received: December 6, 2021; Accepted: January 10, 2022; Published Online: January 28, 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Section: 3D Printing and Bioprinting for the Future of Healthcare)
Citation: Liu Y, Sing SL, Lim RXE, et al., 2022, Preliminary Investigation on the Geometric Accuracy of 3D Printed Dental Implant Using a
Monkey Maxilla Incisor Model. Int J Bioprint, 8(1): 476. http://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.v8i1.476
1. Introduction the implant to the bone defect region can be customized
through computer-aided design (CAD) based on patients’
With the recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) [3,4]
or three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, there has scans to achieve better bone integration . Other
been an increased popularity in their use for fabricating advantages of 3D printing include low costs, shorter
[5]
metallic implants for biomedical applications due to the manufacturing duration, and high consistency .
ability to customize fabrication for personalized patient Compared to conventional manufacturing
treatment . Complex geometries with tunable implant methodologies where metallic implants are manufactured
[1]
properties can now be fabricated . A good match of using formative techniques such as forging or casting,
[2]
© 2022 Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting distribution and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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