Background: Advanced manufacturing techniques, known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, use computer-aided digital design models to automatically produce customized three-dimensional objects.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different sterilizing methods on the dimensions of a 3D-printed surgical guide for implant treatment.
Methods: Based on the parameters of the sterilizing procedure, we conducted a controlled study with a prospective design on surgical guides, randomly dividing them into two groups of 13 specimens each. Group I underwent steam sterilization for 15 minutes at 121 °C, whereas Group II underwent sterilization for 10 minutes at 134 °C.
Results: Before autoclaving, Group I and Group II did not differ statistically significantly in area or perimeter (p = 0.128, p = 718). The percent change in area between the research groups compared pairwise showed a significant difference (p < 0.0001) between each group pair. The percentage changes in the area and perimeter between Group I and Group II were found to differ considerably (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: The results of this investigation unequivocally show that steam sterilization procedures have a substantial impact on the stability and dimensional correctness of 3D-printed surgical guides. carefully choose settings to reduce distortion, even though sterilizing is essential. At 121°C for 15 minutes, steam sterilization appears to provide the best blend of microbiological inactivation and guide integrity preservation. Compression and shrinking are still possibilities.