Accuracy assessment of full-arch dental models printed with liquid crystal display versus stereolithography printers

Objectives: This study compared the trueness and precision of dental models printed with a high-resolution entry-level liquid crystal display (LCD) printer and a stereolithography (SLA) printer across three dental alignment conditions using a 100-µm print layer height. Material and Methods: A digital maxillary reference model was manipulated to create three alignment groups: Well-aligned, crowding, and spacing. Ten dental models per group were fabricated using LCD (Elegoo Saturn 4K) and SLA (Formlabs Form 2) printers, resulting in 60 models total. Models were subsequently scanned and superimposed onto the digital reference model using an automated best-fit method for accuracy analysis (trueness and precision). Root mean square (RMS) values were calculated to represent mean point-to-point surface deviation. Statistical comparisons were performed using independent t -tests. Results: No significant difference in overall RMS values for trueness was found between LCD and SLA groups. However, the LCD group (0.125 ± 0.001 mm) demonstrated significantly lower mean RMS than the SLA group (0.163 ± 0.012 mm) in the spacing dentition ( p < 0.05). The SLA group (0.136 ± 0.008 mm) showed significantly lower mean RMS than the LCD group (0.157 ± 0.002 mm) in the well-aligned dentition ( p < 0.05). For precision, the LCD-printed group (0.036 ± 0.011 mm) showed significantly lower mean RMS values than the SLA group (0.070 ± 0.021 mm) across all alignment conditions ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: While overall trueness was comparable between the two printers, dental alignment significantly influenced dimensional accuracy. LCD-printed models demonstrated superior trueness in spacing cases and superior precision across all experimental groups, whereas SLA-printed models exhibited superior trueness for well-aligned dentition.