Advisory Committee Chair
Christos Vlachos
Advisory Committee Members
Lew Sample
Nate Lawson
William Bates
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
1-1-2025
Degree Name by School
Master of Science in Dentistry (MScD) School of Dentistry
Abstract
Statement of problem: Three-dimensional (3D) printing offers an efficient method to produce occlusal devices (splints). However, their wear resistance is poorly understood. Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare the wear resistance of flexible and rigid 3D printed occlusal splint materials to milled and conventionally processed occlusal splint materials. By establishing such a comparison, this study will help provide clinicians with greater knowledge of which materials and methods will provide their patients with the most wear resistant and durable occlusal splint possible. Material and methods: Identical sized blocks (n=8) of 3 flexible 3D printed materials (KeySplint Soft, NightGuard Flex 2, SmileGuard), 2 rigid 3D printed materials (KeySplint Hard, NightGuard Firm 2), 1 milled material (Ceramill A-Splint), 1 thermoform material (Erkoloc-Pro), 1 light-polymerized material (Eclipse Prosthetic Resin), 1 heat-polymerized material (Excel Formula Heat Cure Denture Base Material), and 1 autopolymerized material (Great Lakes Splint Resin Acrylic) were prepared and wet polished to 1200-grit SiC paper. The specimens were placed in a modified Alabama wear testing device with spherical zirconia antagonists. The device applied a 20-N load and a subsequent 2-mm horizontal slide for 400,000 cycles. To simulate clinical intraoral conditions, the test was run in a 33% glycerin solution. Following the wear test, the volumetric wear was measured with an optical profilometer. Vickers microhardnesses of the materials were also measured for each material (n=3). Volumetric wear and iv microhardness were compared with one-way ANOVAs and Tukey post-hoc analyses (α=.05). Results: There were significant differences between the wear of the different occlusal splint materials (P<.001). The rigid 3D printed materials underwent similar wear as the light-polymerized, heat-polymerized and milled occlusal splint materials. The autopolymerized and thermoformed occlusal splint material experienced significantly more wear (P<.05). The flexible 3D printed materials had the significantly greatest wear (P<.05). A statistically significant, strong negative correlation between hardness and volumetric wear was found (r=-.93; P<.001). Conclusions: Rigid 3D printed occlusal splint materials exhibit a high degree of wear resistance. Additionally, flexible 3D printed occlusal splint materials exhibit relatively low wear resistance.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Pierpont Flanders, "Wear resistance of 3D printed occlusal splint materials" (2025). All ETDs from UAB. 6821.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/6821
Comments
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