NextDent Surgical Guide

NextDent SG is a biocompatible Class I material, developed for the printing of Surgical Guides for implant surgery use. Because of the high precision of this material it is easy to insert drill sleeves, directly after printing. Enabling even greater precision during surgery. The properties of NextDent SG will not change by using disinfectants.

In addition, the material can also be sterilized using standard autoclave protocols. The use of an autoclave does not affect the dimensional stability, therefore NextDent SG can be used in every operating theater.

Accuracy Tips

In order to achieve good accuracy with SG materials it is important to follow the part setup instructions below for orientation and supports. Some other key tips are as follows:

For best results orient the parts flat in the build area so the surface fitting the teeth is away from the print platform.
Orient drill guide holes perpendicular to the XY-Plane. If there are multiple drill guides at different angles try to orient the part to keep them all as perpendicular to the XY-Plane as possible.
Verify proper cleaning method. Insure cleaning solvents are not saturated and parts are allowed to dry before post cure.

Orientation - Partials

Orient part with the top of the teeth facing down into the grid on 3DSprint™. Use Transform functions to orient part such that the drill guides are as vertical as possible.

Figure 1. Front view of surgical guide part.

Figure 2. Top view of surgical guide part.

Use the Clipping features under view to verify the verticality of the drill guide.

Figure 3. Clipped view of drill guide hole in surgical guide part.

Add Supports - Partials

Add supports to the part using the Create Supports function under the Smart Supports icon. Look at the supports and determine how they may need to be modified.

Figure 4. Front view of supported surgical guide part.

Note supports should be removed from all numbers or lettering and from any area that will cause an obstruction when inserting the drill guide.


Figure 5. View of lettering and drill guide hole showing support nodes in surgical guide part.

Remove the nodes using the tools under the Modify Tab.

Figure 6. Smart Support Window with function tabs including Modify tab


Figure 7. View of lettering and drill guide hole showing support nodes removed in surgical guide part.


Figure 8. Clipped view of drill guide hole before and after nodes are removed from surgical guide part.

Once supports have been modified, the part is ready to print.

Figure 9. Properly oriented and supported surgical guide part.

Orientation – Full Arches

Orient part with the top of the teeth facing down into the grid on 3DSprint™. The choice here is going to be speed vs drill guide verticality. For print speed, orient the part such that the part is as flat as possible. For drill verticality, use Transform functions to orient part such that the drill guides are as vertical as possible.

Figure 10. Surgical guide full arch.

Figure 11. View of surgical guide full arch oriented to optimize print speed.


Figure 12. View of surgical guide full arch re-oriented to optimize drill guide verticality.

Add Supports – Full Arches

Add supports to the part using the Create Supports function under the Smart Supports icon. Look at the supports and determine how they may need to be modified.

Figure 13. Isotropic view of supported surgical guide full arch oriented for drill guide verticality.

It may be necessary to ADD supports for print reliability and optimal accuracy. For surgical guide parts, this normally occurs when the automatically generated supports do not provide enough supports on the near flat surfaces of the teeth.


Figure 14. Bottom view of supported surgical guide full arch oriented for drill guide verticality with extra nodes added for a more reliably supported print to the image on the right.


Figure 15. Bottom view of supported surgical guide full arch oriented for print speed with extra nodes added for a more reliably supported print to the image on the right.