[In vitro evaluation of the application of digital individual tooth tray in the impression making of mandibular full-arch crown abutments].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for the production of digital individual tooth tray based on three-dimensional (3D) scan, computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing, and to evaluate the effect of impression taking of full-arch crown abutments by digital individual tooth tray technique and conventional method through in vitro study. METHODS: The full crown preparation was performed on all the fourteen resin teeth in a standard model of mandibular dentition. The surface data of prepared abutments was collected by 3D scanning. A new project was created in a dental CAD software including all the fourteen teeth in the mandibular dentition. The design modules of anatomy crown and coping were selected for each tooth. The dentition was divided for three sections: right posterior teeth, anterior teeth, and left posterior teeth areas. The connector design was added between the abutments within the same section. The scanned data of the abutments were imported. The occlusal plane and insertion path were determined. The position of margin line, as well as the shape of anatomy crown and connector as the main body of the individual tooth tray were designed for each abutment. The shape of coping was generated as the space for holding the impression material. The finalized data of the main body was imported into Geomagic software. The retentive attachment was added at the external surface and the tissue stop was formed at the internal surface. The completed individual tooth tray was manufactured by 3D printing with resin material. The data of full-arch crown abutments were modified and printed. The conventional dentition trays A and B, as well as digital individual tooth tray were designed and printed for four copies each. The polyether impressions of the full-arch abutments were made by conventional one-step method using dentition tray A, and by sectional-impression technique using digital individual tooth tray and dentition tray B for four times each. The time spent for each impression taking and the numbers of defects at the shoulder and axial/occlusal surface in each impression were recorded. The impression quality of each abutment was evaluated. The overall quality distribution and the pass rate of abutments between the two methods were analyzed. RESULTS: The impressions made by conventional method had more defects at shoulder than those made by digital individual tooth tray technique. No difference of the number of defects at axial/occlusal surface between the two methods was observed. The digital individual tooth tray technique for the full-arch abutment impression exhibited higher pass rate of abutments and better quality of impression, compared with conventional methods. CONCLUSION: A new method for the production of digital individual tooth tray based on digital scanning, CAD and 3D printing was established. Compared with conventional method, using digital individual tooth tray technique for impression taking of full-arch abutments can achieve better effect.