Direct Inkjet Printing of Dental Prostheses Made of Zirconia

CAD/CAM milling systems provide a rapid and individual method for the manufacturing of zirconia dental restorations. However, the disadvantages of these systems include limited accuracy, possible introduction of microscopic cracks, and a waste of material due to the principle of the ‘subtractive process’. The hypothesis of this study was that these issues can be overcome by a novel generative manufacturing technique, direct inkjet printing. A tailored zirconia-based ceramic suspension with 27 vol% solid content was synthesized. The suspension was printed on a conventional, but modified, drop-on-demand inkjet printer. A cleaning unit and a drying device allowed for the build-up of dense components of the size of a posterior crown. A characteristic strength of 763 MPa and a mean fracture toughness of 6.7 MPam0.5 were determined on 3D-printed and subsequently sintered specimens. The novel technique has great potential to produce, cost-efficiently, all-ceramic dental restorations at high accuracy and with a minimum of materials consumption.

[1]  Rainer Telle,et al.  Development of high solid content aqueous 3Y-TZP suspensions for direct inkjet printing using a thermal inkjet printer , 2009 .

[2]  D. Hollander,et al.  Development of Individual Three-Dimensional Bone Substitutes Using “Selective Laser Melting” , 2003, European Journal of Trauma.

[3]  Michael J. Cima,et al.  New Process and Materials Developments in 3-Dimensional Printing, 3DP ™ , 1998 .

[4]  B. Reitz,et al.  Zirconia-TZP and alumina--advanced technologies for the manufacturing of single crowns. , 1999, The European journal of prosthodontics and restorative dentistry.

[5]  Thierry Chartier,et al.  Stereolithography for manufacturing ceramic parts , 2000 .

[6]  Thierry Chartier,et al.  3D fine scale ceramic components formed by ink-jet prototyping process , 2005 .

[7]  Moustafa N. Aboushelib,et al.  Strength influencing variables on CAD/CAM zirconia frameworks. , 2008, Dental materials : official publication of the Academy of Dental Materials.

[8]  David L. Bourell,et al.  Selective laser sintering of metals and ceramics , 1992 .

[9]  Andreas Bindl,et al.  Fit of all-ceramic posterior fixed partial denture frameworks in vitro. , 2007, The International journal of periodontics & restorative dentistry.

[10]  Theo Fett,et al.  Ceramics: Mechanical Properties, Failure Behaviour, Materials Selection , 1999 .

[11]  J. Cesarano,et al.  Direct Ink Writing of Three‐Dimensional Ceramic Structures , 2006 .

[12]  John Evans,et al.  Direct ink-jet printing of vertical walls , 2002 .

[13]  J. Kübler.  Fracture Toughness of Ceramics Using the Sevnb Method: Preliminary Results , 2008 .

[14]  M. J. Edirisinghe,et al.  Solid freeform fabrication of ceramics , 2003 .

[15]  Douglas A Terry,et al.  CAD/CAM systems, materials, and clinical guidelines for all-ceramic crowns and fixed partial dentures. , 2002, Compendium of continuing education in dentistry.