Zirconia-calcium silicate bioactive composites for dental applications using DLP additive manufacturing

Zirconia has outstanding mechanical strength which made it a favourable material dental implants material. However, its use is limited by challenges in bone bonding and elasticity. This paper introduces a novel bioprinting ceramic material by mixing calcium silicate with zirconia to enhance bioactivity. Using the high precision and speed of Digital Light Processing (DLP), this study develops a novel zirconia-calcium silicate slurry for dental applications. The study reports the preparation of zirconia-calcium silicate, formulation of resin compositions, and optimization of the bioprinting, debinding and sintering. Employing a full factorial Design of Experiments (DOE), a systematic approach was implemented to identify optimal printing conditions such as the layer thickness, exposure time, and power. The results show that slurries formulated with BYK-111 as the dispersant and ACMO/PEGDA/TPO resin, coupled with 80 wt.% solid loading, achieved the most favourable rheological properties, cure depth, and printing accuracy. The optimal printing conditions were 0.75 s exposure time, 300% exposure power, and 30 µm layer thickness, ensured a relative density of the sintered implants exceeding 95%. This study advances dental implant materials by introducing a novel DLP biomaterial with a slurry formulation, presenting significant implications for clinical applications and future research in developing advanced dental and medical implants.