Surgical Results of Immature Third Molar Autotransplantation Using Printed Replicas.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare surgical results of immature third molar autotransplantation without and with use of 3- dimensional printed donor tooth replicas. The replica was expected to decrease the total surgery time and the number of attempts of fitting the donor tooth to the recipient site.
Methods: All surgeries were done in RSU SI. Planning and replica printing for surgeries were supported by BBCE. The replica was created based on the cone-beam computed tomography data of the patient and subsequently 3- dimensional printed. Two groups of immature third molar autotransplantation were formed, one conventional (group A) and one using a printed donor tooth replicas (group B).
Total surgery time from the first incision to the last suture, donor tooth extra- alveolar time and the number of donor tooth fitting attempts were monitored.
Results: Group A consisted of 22 patients, (6 males, 18 females, mean age 17.81, range 13-22).
The average total surgery time was 65.91 minutes, donor tooth extra-alveolar time was 63.63 seconds, and the average number of fitting attempts was 2.00.
Group B consisted of 19 patients, (8 males, 11 females, mean age 16.10, range 14-19).
The average total surgery time was 45.00 minutes, donor tooth extra-alveolar time was 61.32 seconds, and the average number of fitting attempts was 1.53.
Conclusions: The use of a replica made the procedure less traumatic, reduced average total surgery time by 20.91 minutes, the donor extra-alveolar time by 2.31 seconds, and the number of fitting attempts of the donor tooth by 0.47.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and inovation programme under the grant agreement No 857287