Introduction:
The demand for overall esthetics has increased, placing the spotlight on improving dental esthetics. Porcelain veneer restorations are minimally invasive restorations which provide esthetic improvement, therefore proper tooth structure preparation is important. A diagnostic mock-up eases the preparation process for the clinician and allows better communication with the patient. With recent technologies, a more convenient production of the mock-up could be feasible.
Materials and Methods:
After impressions and photographs, the gathered data was digitized for use on a software for the designing of the digital smile design. 10 resin models were printed and 10 silicone indices were fabricated on top, for the fabrication of molded composite resin mock-ups. While 10 PMMA mock-ups were directly milled from the digital design. 20 preoperative resin models were printed for the fitting of each mock-up individually on a model. All fitted mock-ups were then scanned and uploaded onto a comparison software, to be compared to the reference digital smile design. All mock-ups were subjected to linear measurements digitally using the software and physically using a digital caliper. Statistical analysis was carried out to evaluate the accuracy of each group.
Results:
Volumetric and linear measurements showed higher trueness of the milled mock-ups to the reference digital smile design.
Conclusion:
The study exhibited a difference between the milled and molded mock-ups, showing the milled mock-ups are of higher accuracy. Within the limitations of this study, the production of CAD/CAM mock-ups decrease the number of errors along the process.