Emerging applications of 3D printing in nasoalveolar molding therapy: a narrative review

Abstract

Presurgical application of nasoalveolar molding (NAM) appliances, which direct tissues closer together as the patient grows, can facilitate surgical repair of cleft lip and palate in some cases. Fabrication of the appliances with conventional techniques requires considerable time and clinical expertise to guide the tissues while mitigating undesired effects such as growth restriction. Computer-aided workflows harnessing digital models, virtual treatment planning and 3D printing have evolved over the past decade to increase the efficiency of NAM therapy with a series of appliances. This narrative review highlights different workflows applying 3D printing technologies to enable production of tangible parts from the virtual treatment plan and discusses how advances in the computational methods and printing materials may enable new horizons for computer-aided NAM therapy.