Three-dimensional printing in oral and maxillofacial surgery: Current landscape and future directions

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, with the potential to revolutionise multiple industries and fields including medicine. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are particularly well placed to advance and integrate this technology into practice. This review provides a summary of 3D printing and discusses the current and future applications of this technology in oral and maxillofacial surgery, including the production of surgical planning models, training tools, cutting guides and personalised implants. While early research is promising, there still remains a paucity of large-scale, well-controlled clinical studies supporting the use of 3D printing technologies for many of these applications. There are also a number of other technical and regulatory challenges which will need to be addressed as this technology is taken up more widely.