Comparative analysis between 3D-printed models designed with generic and dental-specific software

Abstract

With the great demand in the market for new dental software, it has become necessary to carry out a study of precision for digital dentistry applications, for which there is no comparative study, and there is a general lack of knowledge regarding its applications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in accuracy between digital impressions obtained using the generic software G-CAD (general CAD) and D CAD (dental CAD). Our hypothesis is that there is no significant difference between the software for specific and general dental use. Methods: A typodont was digitized with an intraoral scanner and the models obtained were exported in STL format to four different software programs (Autodesk MeshMixer 3.5, Exocad Dental, Blender for dental and InLAB). The STL files obtained by each software were materialized using a 3D printer. The printed models were scanned and exported into STL files, from which six pairs of groups were formed. The groups were compared using the analysis software (3D Geomagic Control X) by superimposing them in the initial alignment order and using the best fit method. Results: There were no significant differences between the four types of software analyzed; however, group 4, composed of the combination of D-CAD (Blender-InLAB), obtained the highest average (-0.0324 SD = 0.0456), with a higher accuracy compared to the group with the lowest average (group 5, composed of the combination of the Meshmixer and Blender models), a generic software and a specific software (0.1024 SD = 0.0819). Conclusion: Although no evidence of significant differences was found with regard to the accuracy of the 3D models produced by G-CAD and D-CAD, the combinations of groups where specific dental design software was present showed greater accuracy (precision and accuracy) and also showed greater tolerance in the groups using D-CAD.