Implementation of a Full Digital Workflow by 3D Printing Intraoral Splints Used in Dental Education: An Exploratory Observational Study with Respect to Students' Experiences

Pablo Kraemer-Fernandez; Sebastian Spintzyk; Ebru Wahl; Fabian Huettig; Andrea Klink

doi:10.3390/dj11010005

Implementation of a Full Digital Workflow by 3D Printing Intraoral Splints Used in Dental Education: An Exploratory Observational Study with Respect to Students' Experiences

Dent J (Basel). 2022 Dec 26;11(1):5. doi: 10.3390/dj11010005.

Authors

Pablo Kraemer-Fernandez¹, Sebastian Spintzyk^{2

3}, Ebru Wahl¹, Fabian Huettig¹, Andrea Klink¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Prosthodontics at University Clinic for Dentistry, Oral Medicine, and Maxillofacial Surgery with Dental School, Tuebingen University Hospital, Osianderstr. 2-8, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
² Section Medical Materials Science and Technology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Osianderstr. 2-8, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
³ ADMiRE Research Center-Additive Manufacturing, Intelligent Robotics, Sensors and Engineering, School of Engineering and IT, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Europastraße 4, 9524 Villach, Austria.

Abstract

Fully digital workflows gained acceptance in dental practice and thereby are of interest for undergraduate education. An exploratory clinical observation was designed to track the implementation of such a workflow with novice digital users in order to describe its feasibility, time investment, and pitfalls.

Methods: Students were invited to provide feedback for their experiences with a training module that consisted of the following: intraoral scanning, computer-aided design (CAD), manual finishing, and insertion of a 3D-printed bite splint for the lower jaw.

Results: A total of 82 fourth-year students participated in the module. The average time required to perform an intraoral scan was 17 m 5 s, and all students were able to design a splint with an average time of 2 h 38 m. Students who indicated prior experience with CAD seem to outperform inexperienced students in both CAD task completion and intraoral scanning. The initial fit was reported as clinically acceptable by 68.5% of the participants, while 79% rated the workflow as very good to satisfactory and indicated that the training was helpful for dental practice.

Conclusions: The implementation of a digital workflow in undergraduate dental education is feasible and has acceptable clinical results. However, CAD is time-intensive, and the experience can be challenging.

Keywords: CAD/CAM; additive manufacturing; dental students; dentistry; intraoral scanning; oral splints; questionnaires; undergraduate medical education; vat photopolymerisation.

Grants and funding

We acknowledge support from the Open Access Publishing Fund of the University of Tübingen. As the winner of the VOCO Dental Challenge in 2021, the research group “Kompetenzzentrum Additive Fertigung, KAF+” gained financial support for the publication of the results by VOCO GmbH. Materials and CAD software were provided free of charge by the companies VOCO GmbH (Cuxhaven, Germany), W2P Engineering (Vienna, Austria), and exocad GmbH (Darmstadt, Germany) within the educational scope of the study.