Dimensional Accuracy and Short-Term Stability of Orthodontic Resin-Printed Models: A Closed Dental System Compared with Commercial Desktop Workflows

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Resin 3D printing is widely used to fabricate orthodontic diagnos- tic models, but the practical performance of commercial desktop workflows compared to dental-certified workflows is still debated. This study compared the dimensional accuracy and 7-day stability of maxillary orthodontic models printed from the same master STL file using a dental-certified workflow versus two commercial desktop workflows. Methods: An ISO 20896-1:2019-based reference cast with four 6 mm calibration spheres was used to generate a master STL file. Fifteen models were printed (n = 5 per workflow) using PrimeprintTM (dental-certified workflow) and two commercial desktop printers (Anycubic Photon Mono M5s; Phrozen Sonic Mighty 14K REVO). The models were digitized at base- line (T0, ≤48 h) and after 7 days (T7) using a laboratory scanner. Surface superimposition in CloudCompare® calculated the RMS (root mean square) surface deviation and mean signed deviation, and two calibrated operators performed independent extractions. Results: The mean RMS deviations were <0.10 mm for all workflows at both time points. No between- workflow differences were detected at T0 (H = 2.000; p = 0.368) or T7 (H = 1.520; p = 0.468), no within-workflow T0–T7 changes were significant (all p > 0.05), and the inter-operator agreement was excellent (ICC 0.991–0.999). Conclusions: Under the tested workflows, dental-certified and commercial desktop resin printing produced orthodontic models with a comparable global surface accuracy and short-term dimensional stability.