Guest editorial
Three-dimensional printing and in-house appliance fabrication: Between innovation and stepping into the unknown

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2020.10.012Get rights and content

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Alloys

In the custom-made 3D fabrication of appliances and utilities, there are basically 2 main concerns that need to be addressed before this trend receives global acclamation. These issues relate to the (1) limitation in available raw materials, sintering/printing processes, and the quality control procedures of in-house printed or cast appliances; and (2) absence of any form of evidence on their mechanical, physical, and biologic properties, including aging pattern intraorally.

The availability of

Polymers

Basic elements of the previous discussion find application also in the case of custom-made aligner fabrication. Despite the fact that orthodontic aligners have a much shorter history than conventional metallic structures, studies have identified fundamentals of the chemistry and mechanical characterization of these materials.8, 9, 10 The available, constantly increasing in number, commercial products are manufactured from basically 2 raw materials: a polyurethane-based polymeric material and a

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