Review For reprint orders, please contact: reprints@futuremedicine.com The impact of 3D printing on oral and maxillofacial surgery Henrique Hadad ‡,1 , Fernanda BDJ Boos Lima ‡,1 , Iman Shirinbak 2 , Thiago S Porto 3 , Jason E Chen 1 & Fernando PS Guastaldi* ,1 1 Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA 2 Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran 3 Department of Operative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA *Author for correspondence: fguastaldi@mgh.harvard.edu ‡ Authors contributed equally 3D printing technology has driven major medical, dental, engineering, and education innovations. In oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS), 3D printing technology has been implemented to improve precision in treatment planning, increase surgical predictability, reduce operation times, and lower overall costs. Furthermore, 3D printing has opened access to surgical training, facilitated patient-physician relationships, and generated greater surgical outcomes. The aim of this review is to summarize the impact of 3D printing technology in the field of OMFS. We discuss its many applications in the management of maxillofacial trauma and reconstruction, orthognathic surgery, maxillofacial prosthodontics, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) reconstruction, dental implants (3D-printed surgical guides and 3D-printed dental implants), bone tissue engineering for maxillofacial regeneration, clinical education, and patient communication. Plain language summary: 3D printing is prevalent in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery. It is a fabrication process that creates objects layer by layer based on the instructions of digital models. The technology has increased treatment reliability, decreased operation lengths, and lowered costs within the specialty. This review highlights how 3D printing is used in trauma management, surgery to align the jaw and teeth, restoration of large oral and facial defects, surgical rehabilitation of the jaw joints, dental implants, hard and soft tissue regeneration, clinical education, and patient communication. Tweetable abstract: In the field of OMFS, 3D printing technology has been used to improve precision, predictability, and lower surgical times. It improves the surgeons’ training and practice, facilitates communication with patients and provides better surgical outcomes. Graphical abstract: 3D printing in OMFS Orthognathic surgery 3D-printed plates 3D-printed guide for implant placement Bone tissue engineering 3D-printed scaffold 3D-printed cutting guide TMJ reconstruction 3D-printed ramus- condyle unit 3D-printed dental implant Maxillofacial prosthodontics 3D-printed auricular prosthesis First draft submitted: 5 December 2022; Accepted for publication: 31 March 2023; Published online: 14 April 2023 Keywords: 3D printing • biomaterials • dental implants • education • maxillofacial surgery • temporomandibular joint • tissue engineering J. 3D Print. Med. (2023) 3DP007 eISSN 2059-4763 10.2217/3dp-2022-0025 C  2023 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital