Effectiveness of three-dimensional-printed space maintainers in pediatric dental patients: A scoping review

In children with untimely loss or extraction of primary teeth, space maintainers (SMs) are the dental appliances which help in preventing the unwanted migration of nearby teeth in dental arch, and thus, avoid the potential need for complex and lengthy orthodontic procedures. Several drawbacks of traditional SMs and their traditional fabrication modalities are well evident from the relevant literature. In the current modern era, digital technological innovations and advancements are progressively evolving and revolutionizing the clinical pediatric dentistry. Digital technologies including intra-oral sensors for acquiring oral tissue impression and three-dimensional (3D)-printers for fabricating SM appliances have been a boon and evolving swiftly, and its various positive aspects have been reported by the studies. However, till now, there is no published scoping review pertinent to the clinical performance of 3D-printed space maintainers (3DP-SMs) in growing children. Therefore, this present scoping review was planned and executed with the aim to appraise the existing published literature regarding 3DP-SMs appliances by extensively exploring published studies/articles from various databases ("PubMed," "Scopus," "Cochrane," "Web of science," "Lilacs," "ScienceDirect," and "Scielo") and also from the manual searching methods by following the "PRISMA - ScR checklist/guidelines" and the best research practices. Nine (n = 9) studies were finally included for review and critical appraisal. Majority of studies including clinical randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-RCTs, and case-reports reported favorable clinical outcomes (higher survival/retention of 3DP-SMs, higher preference and acceptance (patient friendly) among children/parents, faster and easier fabrication method, higher accuracy in size, shape, better adaptability, etc. Nevertheless, some limitations have been reported. Furthermore, a scarcity of robust evidence pertaining to 3DP-SMs was observed in the current literature.