Assessment of temperature effects on photopolymer resin dental prosthetics fabricated by stereolithography using optical coherence tomography.

• Optical coherence tomography utilization to evaluate the SLA 3D printing quality. • An image processing algorithm was developed for analyzing surface. • Spectrometer using half-order light from the HD grating was utilized. • Optical signal intensity is presented for varying printing temperatute. • Sorface roughness is presented of the 3D-printed samples. The term "additive manufacturing" refers to three-dimensional (3D) printing, a form of instant prototyping, a layered manufacturing technique that has significantly contributed to the healthcare sector. Stereolithography (SLA) is one of the most extensively utilized 3D printing technologies in dentistry which uses an ultraviolet laser along with resin to manufacture prosthetic models. Higher temperatures may cause crystallization in the interior structure and affect the roughness of the 3D denture models. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the surface roughness and inner-structure crystalization of the final product to ensure a defect-free dental prosthesis. In this study, the surface of an SLA-printed 3D denture was evaluated under various thermal conditions using a high-resolution, spectrometer-oriented, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). A surface analysis algorithm was developed to analyze the inner structure of the 3D model using each pixel, and the average roughness (RA) value was calculated to measure the surface roughness. To improve the image quality, half-order light from the diffraction grating was used to enhance the spectrometer's performance allowing observation of the internal structure. After applying the surface analysis algorithm, the internal crystallization was observed at a depth of ∼ 10 µm below the sample's surface. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the OCT system along with a high-resolution spectrometer to detect structural deformation by determining the crystal structure inside the 3D sample at various printing temperatures. This research shows the potential use of a high-resolution microscopic analysis using OCT to evaluate the SLA 3D printing quality, which can serve as a guideline for future research investigations in evaluating 3D samples non-destructively. virus-transmitting mosquito specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]