Fit accuracy of 3D printed Co-Cr multiunit implant-supported fixed dental prostheses: A systematic review of in vitro studies.

Statement of problem: Systematic reviews evaluating the fit accuracy of cobalt chromium (Co-Cr) multiunit implant-supported fixed dental prostheses (ISFDPs) fabricated by 3-dimensional (3D) printing are lacking.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the fit accuracy of 3D printed Co-Cr multiunit ISFDPs based on recent in vitro studies.

Material and methods: Searches were performed across Medline (via Ovid), Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus for articles published up to June 2025. The final selection of articles was made according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Quality Assessment Tool For In Vitro Studies (QUIN Tool) was employed to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. A descriptive analysis was conducted to summarize the findings from the included studies.

Results: After screening and applying the eligibility criteria, a total of 7 articles were found eligible out of the initial 617 records. One additional article was identified through manual search, bringing the total to 8. Quality assessment showed that 2 studies had a low risk of bias, and 6 had a medium risk. Three studies focused on complete arch (12-unit) ISFDPs and 5 studies on 3-unit prostheses. The fit outcome of 3D printed Co-Cr ISFDPs, compared with other fabrication methods, varied across frameworks with different span lengths.

Conclusions: Most studies investigated 3-unit ISFDPs supported by 2 implants and reported clinically acceptable marginal fit across fabrication methods. For 12-unit ISFDPs, 3D printed frameworks showed less accurate fit than milled ones but better than cast frameworks. Digital pattern fabrication contributed to improved fit of cast complete arch prostheses.