Impact Absorption on 3D Printed Mouthguard Material in Selected Printing Angulations.

BACKGROUND

Sports-related oral and craniofacial injuries are significant public health problems, and one-third of these injuries result from sports activities. These injuries affect the quality of life and performance of athletes. Sports mouthguards are recommended to mitigate these injuries. Three-dimensional (3D)-printed customized mouthguards may provide superior shock absorption for injury prevention, depending on material and design factors rather than fabrication technique alone. To date, the optimal angle for 3D-printed mouthguards, particularly in terms of impact absorption, has not yet been well-studied.

AIM: This study assesses the effect of printing angulation on the impact absorption of 3D-printed material for sports mouthguard application.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This study investigated the impact absorption properties of a 3D-printed mouthguard material produced at different printing angles (0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, and 50°) using a digital light processing printer. A free-falling ball impact test was conducted to assess the maximum impact force and the time taken to reach the maximum impact force.

RESULTS

The printing angle significantly affected the impact absorption properties. The 10° printing angle exhibited the lowest maximum impact force and longest impact force time.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that the printing angle plays a significant role in optimizing the protective properties of 3D-printed mouthguards.