The rapid prototyping technique using the binder jet method has recently been established. We investigated the accuracy of the full-scale bone model from CT image data using the binder jet method and discussed its clinical usefulness for dental implants.
Starch and plaster models in three dry mandibles were processed respectively and the accuracy of their size was investigated. The results showed that the accuracy and the reproducibility of two types of models were high enough to be used in dental implant treatment.
As clinical applications, a starch model of maxilla was processed to simulate implant placement surgery. Another plaster model of mandible was processed as the working model to make a surgical template for implant placement.
The starch model was extremely useful for simulating implant operations because the hardness of the model was suitable for using real surgical instruments. To construct an accurate working model for a surgical template, we combined a plaster model of a mandible body with a cast model of a tooth crown from an impression of dentition. The position and direction of implant placement were then designed based on this hybrid model. As the operation succeeded, it is suggested that the plaster bone model is useful in dental laboratory works such as surgical template making.