Anagrafe della ricerca

We are in an era of digital transformations where the adoption of emerging technologies is reshaping dental care by replacing manual processes with digital procedures and updated technologies [1]. The great challenge of modern prosthetic dentistry is to find materials whose biomechanical behavior is the most similar to natural enamel when subjected to functional and parafunctional loads [2]. In addition, the minimization of tooth preparation times to restore affected dentition would strongly simplify treatment procedures and their invasiveness, while providing patients stable results overtime which is a fundamental requisite. The currentdisrupting technological time facilitates innovation and creativity, and 3D-printing has much to contribute by providing new technologies for fabricating dental devices, based on additive manufacturing [3]. These new manufacturing capabilities require a completely new design paradigm in order to be able to fully exploit their potential. The prosthetic components for teeth restoration must be designed not only studying their shape, but also its mechanical behavior which can now be tuned thanks to the possibility of 3D printing both various solid materials and materials with cellular structures, with designed, variable anisotropy and porosity [4]. In this scenario, metal-free adhesive materials produced through additive manufacturing techniques could bring major benefits to modern dentistry, but they are still affected by a major drawback that is being confined almost exclusively to resin materials, which are indicated for provisional restorations, mainly [5]. The project is aimed to overcome this limit, gaining knowledge on the biomechanical behavior and design workflow to 3D print ceramic-based materials, such as zirconia and silica-based ceramics [6], thanks to the collaboration with companies which are introducing new technologies to 3D print innovative materials, and which need the feedback from practitioners and engineers on the respective performance, and optimization. The ambitious goal of the 3DCer4Dent project is not only to test, both with basic and applied research, the biomechanical characteristics of ceramic materials processed through AM, but also to create a simulated virtual model capable of predicting the mandibular kinematics (Multibody) and the effects of functional and parafunctional loads on dental prostheses and supporting tissues. To achieve such goals, a multi-disciplinary coordination activity will be established, linking reference laboratories in Italy with capacities on biomechanical evaluation of bio-materials (UniTO and PoliTO), to reference groups on multi-model and finite elements analysis (UniPG and UniCT) and companies producing 3D printers and printable resins and ceramics, such as DWS, Lithoz and New Ancorvis, which will explicitly support the project by providing testing materials to be developed and improved before entering in the market.