IADR Abstract Archives
3D-Printed Teeth: Filling the Gap in Dental Education
Objectives: Pre-clinical training is critical in dental education before students can treat patients. Artificial teeth, called typodonts, are commonly used to facilitate this training. However, typodonts made from polymers differ significantly in mechanical properties from human teeth, leading to dissatisfaction among dental students. Little research has focused on creating biomimetic typodonts capable of replicating the tactile feel of real teeth, which is critical to simulating representative cutting force. The aim of this study is to explore alternative, readily available materials to those outlined in previous research and further enhance the 3D-printed typodont teeth, with the authors intending to create an open-source package to enable dental schools to produce their own haptically-similar typodonts.
Methods: Four alternative materials were utilised and tested in this study: 15 wt.% carbonated hydroxyapatite, 15 wt.% Puraflake®, 15 wt.% zinc oxide, and dental composite resin. Materials were used to produce the 3D-printed typodonts. The haptic response of the typodont teeth was then measured using the same method as in a previous study. Finally, a Likert-scale questionnaire was given to fourth- and fifth-year dental students to compare the 3D-printed typodonts with enamel in extracted teeth.
Results: The 3D-printed typodonts made from all four alternative materials exhibited haptic responses similar to those of extracted teeth. The questionnaire results indicated a difference between the force experiments; however, students agreed the dental composite resin closely matched extracted enamel.
Conclusions: The authors successfully created haptically similar typodonts using alternative materials, which can be used to enhance pre-clinical training in dental education. These 3D-printed typodonts are easy to produce and offer a realistic simulation of the cutting force of real teeth. However, the enamel material still needs improvement. The authors intend to create an open-source package to enable dental schools to produce their own haptically-similar typodonts.
Methods: Four alternative materials were utilised and tested in this study: 15 wt.% carbonated hydroxyapatite, 15 wt.% Puraflake®, 15 wt.% zinc oxide, and dental composite resin. Materials were used to produce the 3D-printed typodonts. The haptic response of the typodont teeth was then measured using the same method as in a previous study. Finally, a Likert-scale questionnaire was given to fourth- and fifth-year dental students to compare the 3D-printed typodonts with enamel in extracted teeth.
Results: The 3D-printed typodonts made from all four alternative materials exhibited haptic responses similar to those of extracted teeth. The questionnaire results indicated a difference between the force experiments; however, students agreed the dental composite resin closely matched extracted enamel.
Conclusions: The authors successfully created haptically similar typodonts using alternative materials, which can be used to enhance pre-clinical training in dental education. These 3D-printed typodonts are easy to produce and offer a realistic simulation of the cutting force of real teeth. However, the enamel material still needs improvement. The authors intend to create an open-source package to enable dental schools to produce their own haptically-similar typodonts.