A STUDY ON THE DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY OF MODELS USING 3-DIMENSIONAL COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY AND 2 RAPID PROTOTYPING METHODS

Statement of problem. Relatively low success rate of root analogue implant system was supposed to be due to the time duration between extraction and implant installation. The use of three-dimensional computer tomography and the reconstruction of objects using rapid prototyping methods would be helpful to shorten this time. Purpose. This aim of this study was to evaluate the application possibility of the 3-dimensional computer tomography and the rapid prototyping to root analogue implants. Material and methods. Ten single rooted teeth were prepared. Width and height of the teeth were measured by the marking points. This was followed by CT scanning, data conversion and rapid prototyping model fabrication. 2 methods were used; fused deposition modelling and stereolithography. Same width and height of this models were measured and compared to the original tooth. Results. Fused deposition modelling showed an enlarged width and reduced height. The stereolithography showed more exact data compared with the fused deposition modelling. Smaller standard deviation were recorded in the stereolithographic method. Overall width error from tooth to rapid prototyping was 7.15% in fused deposition modelling and 0.2% in stereolithography. Overall height showed the tendency of reducing dimensions. Conclusion. From the results of this study, stereolithography seems to be very predictable method of fabricating root analogue implant.