Post-curing protocols and dimensional accuracy of 3D-printed resin materials

Purpose The study aims to evaluate the influence of various post-curing times and temperatures on the dimensional accuracy of 3D-printed resin space maintainers.Materials and Methods Using biocompatible printing resins, the study designed band samples of space maintainers, which were 3D printed with the SLA printer. Samples were grouped based on thickness (0.5 mm and 1.0 mm) and post-cured under different conditions of temperature and time (60°C-30 minutes, 60°C-90 minutes, 60°C-120 minutes, 60°C-60 minutes, 40°C-60 minutes, 80°C-60 minutes). The accuracy of the band part of the printed maintainers was analysed using the total and 4 comparison points’ arithmetic mean of the surface deviation on the band’s surface.Results The study revealed that the post-curing conditions notably influenced the dimensional accuracy of the printed samples. Post-curing temperature and duration variations produced significant differences in dimensional stability between the groups. Particularly, a post-curing period of 60°C for 60 minutes was identified as optimal for achieving better dimensional accuracy, especially for samples with 1.0 mm thickness.Conclusions Different post-curing parameters significantly affect the dimensional accuracy of 3D-printed resin space maintainers. The 1.0 mm band thickness and a 60°C and 60 minutes post-curing protocol optimize the accuracy of the maintainers.