Polylactic Acid as a Material for Three-Dimensional

Printing of Provisional Restorations

Pedro Molinero-Mourelle, DDS, MS1/Silvia Canals, DDS, MS2/
Miguel Gómez-Polo, DDS, PhD3/Ma Fernanda Solá-Ruiz, MD, DDS, PhD4/
Jaime del Río Highsmith, MD, DDS, PhD5/Alicia Celemín Viñuela, MD, DDS, PhD6

Purpose: To assess the marginal fit of provisional polylactic acid (PLA) crowns obtained
via three-dimensional (3D) printing using a profile projector. Materials and Methods:
A stone cast was scanned, and 15 provisional dental crowns were designed and printed
in PLA using a 0.2-mm nozzle and 135-degree build angle. The marginal fit was measured
at six points on each crown using a profile projector. Results and Conclusion: Within
the limitations of this study, the marginal fit of PLA provisional restorations was clinically
acceptable, and the results were comparable to those observed with polymethyl methacrylate
provisional restorations. Int J Prosthodont 2018;31:349–350. doi: 10.11607/ijp.5709

P rovisional restorations are an essential step in fixed

prosthodontics, as they provide function for long
periods of time and must provide adequate pulp pro-
Table 1   T echnical Specifications of Polylactic Acid
Properties Value Test method
Density 1.24 g/m2 ASTM D792
tection and maintenance of periodontal health, which
Flexural modulus 3,600 MPa ISO 178
are factors directly related to marginal adjustment.1
Computer-aided design/computer-assisted manu- Flexural strength 108 mpA ISO 178
facturing (CAD/CAM) technology allows for the use Strength (SHD) 85 SHD ASTM D2240
of different digital manufacturing systems, such as Flexural temperature under 56°C ISO 75/2B
additive three-dimensional (3D) printers. One of these loading
systems, the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) sys- Fusion temperature 145°C to 160°C ASTM D3418
tem, is based on melting a plastic filament into layered Glass transition temperature 56°C to 64°C ASTM D3418
deposits into a tray in a specific position to obtain the SHD = Shore Hardness.
desired shape.2 Polylactic acid (PLA), a thermoplastic
biopolymer whose predecessor is lactic acid, is one of
the most-used materials in FDM printers. In its nor- was that provisional PLA crowns can reach levels of
mal form, it is a colorless polymer resistant to humidity marginal fit similar to those made of PMMA.
that is both biodegradable and biocompatible, acting
as a barrier to taste and smell (Table 1). Materials and Methods
The objective of this study was to assess the margin-
al fit of provisional PLA crowns obtained via 3D print- A stone cast was scanned using a Zimmer ZFX scan-
ing using a profile projector. The working hypothesis ner. Afterwards, 15 provisional dental crowns were
designed using EXOCAD software. Once the crown
1PhD Student, Department of Orofacial Prosthetics, Faculty of Dentistry,
design was obtained in standard tessellation lan-
Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. guage (STL) format, the file was transferred to the
2Postgraduate Student, Department of Orofacial Prosthetics, Faculty of Ultimaker CURA 3.0 program and printing parameters
Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. were adjusted on the Witbox 2 printer following the
3Assistant Professor, Department of Orofacial Prosthetics, Faculty of
manufacturer’s recommendations. The restorations
Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
4Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine were printed in PLA using a 0.2-mm nozzle and a
and Dentistry, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. 135-degree build angle, as it is the most suitable for
5Chairman of Prosthodontics, Department of Orofacial Prosthetics, Faculty the preparation of these specimens according to the
of Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. study carried out by Osman in 20173 (Fig 1).
6Tenured Professor, Department of Orofacial Prosthetics, Faculty of
To perform the marginal fit measurements, a profile
Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
projector (Toupview Serial No. C1604280431) was used
Correspondence to: Prof Dr Jaime del Río Highsmith, Department of to measure the marginal fit of the restorations at six
Orofacial Prosthetics, University of Madrid. Pza Ramón y Cajal s/n 28040,
points on each crown. Three marks were made at the
Madrid, Spain. Email: jrh@odon.ucm.es
vestibular aspect and three marks at the lingual aspect
©2018 by Quintessence Publishing Co Inc. on the cast so the measurements of all crowns would

Volume 31, Number 4, 2018 349

© 2018 BY QUINTESSENCE PUBLISHING CO, INC. PRINTING OF THIS DOCUMENT IS RESTRICTED TO PERSONAL USE ONLY.
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Polylactic Acid for 3D Printing of Restorations

Fig 1   Design of the virtual crown with the printing parameters. Fig 2   PLA provisional crown.

 arginal Fit Table of Frequency (μm)

Table 2   M
Conclusions
Standard Standard
N Mean error Median deviation Minimum Maximum
Although there are currently no
Mean 15 122.89 67.25 128.46 26.04 51.44 145.65
studies analyzing PLA provisional
Minimum 15 72.04 39.05 73.64 15.12 29.22 85.76
restorations and the degree of mar-
Maximum 15 169.39 86.09 179.72 33,344.59 73.82 197.41
ginal fit within the clinically accept-
Angle 15 –83.56 59.62 –89.49 23.09 –90.54 –90.00
able limits, the results are similar
Length 15 265.96 145.02 271.26 56.16 160.67 388.36
to those observed in PMMA pro-
visional restorations. In view of the
be made at the same points. Later, the cast die with the provisional crown obtained results, further studies in
was placed in the platform of the profile projector, and the images were this regard are necessary.
taken at the margins of the preparation, at the points that had been previ-
ously marked (Fig 2). Acknowledgments
Once the images were obtained, the marginal fit was measured in
microns with the ImageJ program prior to calibration. The normal- The authors would like to thank Dr Alexandra
ity and homogeneity of the measurements were checked using the Helm and Mr Santiago Cano (Universidad
Complutense of Madrid) for their assistance
Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests.
in this study.

Results
References
A descriptive analysis of the quantitative variables (DESCRIPTIVE and
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350 The International Journal of Prosthodontics

© 2018 BY QUINTESSENCE PUBLISHING CO, INC. PRINTING OF THIS DOCUMENT IS RESTRICTED TO PERSONAL USE ONLY.
NO PART MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER.