Introduction: Computer guided implant surgery is now widely used giving excellent results in placing implants accurately and safely, however understanding the effect of different 3D printers on the accuracy of the final implant position hasn't been resolved yet.
Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the accuracy of 3 different 3D printers used in stent fabrication on the final implant position as compared to the planned position.
Materials and methods: A comparative invitro study included 30 surgical guides divided into 3 groups.10 surgical guides printed with SLA printer and 10 surgical guides printed with DLP printer and 10 surgical guides printed with an FDM printer.They were used to place 30 implants in 30 different models and the final implant position was compared with the planned implant placement by superimposition using CBCT and implant planning software. The deviation between the actual and planned implants was measured at angular deviation in degrees and horizontal and vertical deviations at both hex and apex.
Results: There were significant differences between the three study groups regarding the angular deviation, vertical hexagon, and apex, with no significant differences in the horizontal hexagon and apex (p= 0.07 and 0.09 respectively). Regarding the angular deviation, the SLA group showed the lowest mean (SD) value (1.42 (0.35)), with a significant difference between SLA and FDM groups (p= 0.02).