ABSTRACT
The popularity of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing technology, is accelerating. Not only is rapid prototyping a significant component of the mainstream adoption of additive manufacturing technology, but also is the rising emphasis on improving printing quality and generating higher-resolution products with complicated geometry. Fused deposition modelling (FDM), one of the 3D printing processes, was primarily utilized mostly for rapid tooling and prototyping, allowing engineers to enhance the design of basic tools and prototypes (Xu et al., 2000). Additive manufacturing technology is comprehensive enough to allow professionals in a variety of industries to build customized products in complicated geometries. Since the production of dental braces requires precise and complicated structures, this trend has resulted in growing of research on additive manufacturing applications in the dental industry. Dentists may use this technology to build customized transparent plastic braces to replace conventional metal braces for orthodontic correction in a short period of time by combining digital scanning and 3D printing techniques. Aside from the issue of “visible” stainless steel in the mouth, metal braces are not removable and cause food limitations, raising questions about their use. As a result, there is a need to develop a comprehensive solution for replacing conventional metal braces with translucent plastic braces for orthodontic correction. Because FDM is no longer suitable for building complicated plastic objects, a practical 3D printing approach for building high-precision products is required. Digital light processing (DLP) is a new additive manufacturing technology that is being utilized to create smaller, more detailed items (Yadroitsev et al., 2007). The study’s objectives are to (1) examine 3D scanning technologies; (2) identify the critical process parameters for fabricating transparent plastic braces utilizing digital light processing (DLP) technology; and (3) identify plastic brace materials with sufficient resilience for orthodontic correction.
