This narrative review explores the role of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies in the production of dental implants, focusing on materials and key AM methods. The study discusses several materials used in implant fabrication, including porous titanium, trabecular tantalum, zirconium dioxide, polymers, and composite materials. These materials are evaluated for their mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and suitability for AM processes. Additionally, the review examines the main AM technologies used in dental implant production, such as selective laser melting (SLM), electron beam melting (EBM), stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). These technologies are compared based on their accuracy, material limitations, customization potential, and applicability in dental practice. The final section presents a data source analysis of the Web of Science and Scopus databases, based on keyword searches. The analysis evaluates the research trends using three criteria: publication category, document type, and year of publication. This provides an insight into the evolution and current trends in the field of additive manufacturing for dental implants. The findings highlight the growing importance of AM technologies in producing customized and efficient dental implants.

Each component implemented in a robotic system requires a priority on low weight, flexibility, and durability. These key parameters for creating a stable yet flexible device can be achieved by applying polymer materials in the construction, not only in the static parts of the skeleton but also in the design and production of robotic grippers. This concise review highlights the possibilities of using polymers as the primary fabrication material for the specific area of “soft grippers” used in dental production. The main part of the article is devoted to analyzing polymer materials—specifically SMPs—their modifications, the characteristics of their primary properties, and the specifics of their use in robotic grippers. The article also provides information on the current state of research conducted over the last decade, through a brief overview obtained from the renowned Web of Science and Scopus databases. As part of the overview, we used basic keywords relevant to the analyzed issue: soft, gripper, and polymer. The review results indicate continuous growth in the number of publications, with the highest increase recorded in 2016 compared to 2016, showing more than a fourfold increase. The lowest increase was recorded in 2020 compared to 2019, where the publication rate was stagnant. The most frequently published documents are Articles, comprising 80.1% to 68.3% (more than 5000 publications). The most popular categories in which documents were published are Engineering 27.1%, (more than 4500 publications) and Materials Science Multidisciplinary 45.2% (more than 180 publications). Based on this review, the importance and need for research into this issue and its analysis can be confirmed, not only in practical applications but also within theoretical reviews and summaries.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a key enabling technology in contemporary dental manufacturing, driven by its capacity for customization, geometric complexity, and seamless integration with digital design workflows. This article presents a technology-oriented narrative review of additive manufacturing in dental implant production, focusing on dominant processing routes, material systems, and emerging research trends rather than a systematic or critical appraisal of the literature. An indicative descriptive analysis of publications indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases between 2014 and 2024 was used to contextualize the technological development of the field and identify major research directions. Emphasis was placed on metal powder bed fusion technologies, specifically Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), which enable the fabrication of titanium implants with controlled porosity and enhanced osseointegration. Ceramic AM approaches, including SLA, DLP, and PBF, are discussed in relation to their potential for aesthetic dental restorations and customized prosthetic components. The publication trend overview indicates a growing interest in ceramic AM after 2020, an increasing focus on hybrid and functionally graded materials, and persistent challenges related to standardization and the availability of long-term clinical evidence. Key technological limitations—including manufacturing accuracy, material stability, validated metrology, and process reproducibility—are highlighted alongside emerging directions such as artificial intelligence-assisted workflows, nanostructured surface modifications, and concepts enabling accelerated or immediate clinical use of additively manufactured dental restorations.

This article provides an overview of modern surface engineering technologies used in the manufacturing of dental components, with a particular focus on dental implants, abutments, and crowns. The main objective of the study is to critically evaluate selected surface treatment and coating deposition methods applied to materials such as titanium, zirconia, hydroxyapatite, and NiTi alloys, and to discuss their relevance in terms of functionality, biocompatibility, and sustainability. The analyzed technologies include anodic oxidation, alkaline oxidation, electrochemical coating deposition, and other surface modification approaches aimed at improving osseointegration, corrosion resistance, and antibacterial performance. This literature review was conducted as a narrative review supported by the PRISMA framework, using the Scopus and Web of Science databases for the period 2016–2025. The findings highlight the increasing importance of surface treatments as a key factor influencing the durability and clinical success of dental implant systems. At the same time, the results indicate that the environmental aspects and energy efficiency of manufacturing and surface treatment processes are still addressed only marginally or qualitatively in the available literature. The identified research gaps include the lack of quantitative data on the energy demand of individual technologies, the absence of standardized indicators for environmental impact assessment, and the limited number of comparative studies evaluating different surface modification techniques in the context of dental manufacturing. Overall, the results emphasize the need for a more systematic sustainability assessment of surface engineering as an integral part of modern dental manufacturing practice.

This article focuses on research in the machining of zirconia crowns for dental implants. Its goal is to find the most suitable cutting parameters that significantly affect the final surface roughness of the crowns for dental implants. This study conducts investigations and experiments to specify the cutting parameters that achieve the optimal surface roughness of zirconia crowns for dental implants. The experiments were designed to precisely determine the cutting parameters that influence the surface roughness of zirconia crowns. The results of this study provide important insights for improving the manufacturing process of zirconia crowns with the specified most suitable cutting parameters. This research contributes to the enhancement of zirconia crown manufacturing techniques and the improvement in the quality and effectiveness of dental implants.