Experimental Characterization of the Mechanical Properties of Medical-Grade Dental Implants, Fabricated Using Vat-Photopolymerization Additive Manufacturing Process

Abstract

The overarching goal of this research work is to fabricate mechanically-robust and dimensionally-accurate dental implants for the treatment of dental fractures, anomalies, and structural deformities with a focus on oral and maxillofacial surgery applications. In pursuit of this goal, the objective of the work is to investigate the mechanical properties of several triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) scaffolds, composed of a medical-grade photopolymer resin, fabricated using digital light processing (DLP) process. DLP is a vat-photopolymerization additive manufacturing process; it has emerged as a high-resolution method for the fabrication of a broad spectrum of biological tissues and constructs for tissue engineering applications. However, the DLP process is intrinsically complex; the complexity of the process stems from complex physiochemical phenomena (such as UV light photopolymerization) as well as resin (photopolymer)-process interactions, which may adversely influence the mechanical properties, the surface morphology, and ultimately the functional characteristics of fabricated dental scaffolds. Consequently, physics-based process and material characterization would be an inevitable need. In this study, several TPMS scaffolds (having complex internal geometries) were fabricated, based on a medical-grade photopolymer resin. The compression properties of the fabricated dental scaffolds were measured using a compression testing machine. In addition, the bioactivity of the scaffolds was assessed in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The outcomes of this study pave the way for the fabrication of complex dental implants with tunable medical and functional properties.