RESUMEN
BACKGROUND:Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology is currently one of the most advanced industrial manufacturing technologies. The surgical template prepared based on the 3D printing technology is mainly made of resin, and a great improvement in its accuracy is required. However, the clinical application of the surgical template made of metal is rarely reported. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the clinical value of 3D-printing implant template in the restoration of free-end missing teeth.METHODS:A prospective study was conducted in 64 enrolled patients with free end-tooth defects. All the patients were randomly assigned to receive traditional implant template (control group,n=32) or 3D-printing implant template (study group,n=32), and 3-6 months later, the patients were subjected to crown restoration. At 6 months after crown restoration, cone beam computed tomography was performed to compare the deviation of the implant tip and neck (including vertical, buccolingual, mesial-distal). Success rate and chewing rate were compared between the two groups at 6 months after crown restoration; patient satisfaction assessment was done and compared between the two groups at 1 year after crown restoration. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There were no significant differences between the two groups in the success rate and chewing rate (98.7％ vs. 95.6％; 97.4％ vs. 97.1％,P>0.05). The vertical, buccolingual, mesial-distal deviations of the implant tip were significantly lower in the study group than the control group (P<0.05), while there was no difference in the vertical and buccolingual deviations of the implant neck between the two groups (P>0.05), and the mesial-distal deviation of the implant neck was significantly lower in the study group than the control group (P<0.05). In addition, there was no difference in the patient satisfaction between the study and control groups (94％vs. 91％, P>0.05). To conclude, the 3D printing implant template can effectively reduce implant excursion based on the assurance of therapeutic efficacy and patient satisfaction, which is of great significance in the restoration of free-end tooth loss.