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Case Reports
. 2023 Apr 12;14(4):216.
doi: 10.3390/jfb14040216.

An Innovative 3D Printed Tooth Reduction Guide for Precise Dental Ceramic Veneers

Manuel Robles  1 , Carlos A Jurado  2 , Francisco X Azpiazu-Flores  3 , Jose Villalobos-Tinoco  4 , Kelvin I Afrashtehfar  5   6 , Nicholas G Fischer  7
Affiliations
Case Reports

An Innovative 3D Printed Tooth Reduction Guide for Precise Dental Ceramic Veneers

Manuel Robles et al. J Funct Biomater. .

Abstract

Tooth reduction guides allow clinicians to obtain the ideal space required for ceramic restorations. This case report describes a novel design (CAD) for an additive computer-aided manufactured (a-CAM) tooth reduction guide with channels that permitted access for the preparation and evaluation of the reduction with the same guide. The guide features innovative vertical and horizontal channels that permit comprehensive access for preparation and evaluation of the reduction with a periodontal probe, ensuring uniform tooth reduction and avoiding overpreparation. This approach was successfully applied to a female patient with non-carious lesions and white spot lesions, resulting in minimally invasive tooth preparations and hand-crafted laminate veneer restorations that met the patient's aesthetic demands while preserving tooth structure. Compared to traditional silicone reduction guides, this novel design offers greater flexibility, enabling clinicians to evaluate tooth reduction in all directions and providing a more comprehensive assessment. Overall, this 3D printed tooth reduction guide represents a significant advancement in dental restoration technology, offering clinicians a useful tool for achieving optimal outcomes with minimal tooth reduction. Future work is warranted to compare tooth reductions and preparation time for this guide to other 3D printed guides.

Keywords: CAD-CAM; computer-aided design; dental bonding; dental esthetics; dental materials; dental porcelain; dental prosthesis design; dental veneers; permanent dental restoration; prosthodontic tooth preparation; three-dimensional printing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Initial situation. (A) face smiling, (B) smile, and (C) intraoral image.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Digital wax-up and reduction guide. (A) Additive digital wax-up, (B) digital tooth reduction guide designed over wax-up, (C) lingual view of reduction guide, (D) facial view of reduction guide, and (E) reduction guide ready for printing.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Printed tooth reduction guide in the mouth. (A) Frontal view, (B) lateral view with periodontal probe measuring, and (C) frontal view of the measurement on the incisal edge during tooth preparation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Final tooth preparations and bonding of the restorations. (A) Final frontal view, (B) cementation for the right central incisor veneer, (C) cementation for the left central incisor veneer.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Final result. (A) Face smiling, (B) smile frontal view, and (C) smile right side view.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Follow-up at one year. (A) Face smiling, (B) intra-oral frontal view, and (C) smile right side view.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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