Introduction: An occlusal splint is a removable, usually acrylic device, which fits tightly to the patient’s teeth. The purpose of this appliance is to protect the teeth from the uncontrolled activity of the masticatory muscles, making it useful in treating temporomandibular disorders or as a temporary bite rise before the final prosthodontic treatment. The Michigan occlusal splint, also referred to as a Ramfjord’s splint or a relaxation splint, is the most widespread type of the occlusal splint. There are different methods of fabricating the Michigan splint. The traditional method involves heat curing of acrylic. Other methods include fabrication with a thermoformed polyamide foil, which can further be modified using cold-curing acrylic resin; CAD/CAM design and milling; and additive manufacturing techniques or 3D printing. Objectives: The first objective of this thesis was to review and compare the CAD/CAM systems for the fabrication of a Michigan splint, which are available on the Slovenian market. Additionally, we reviewed the dental additive techniques that are available on the Slovenian market. The second objective was to document and present the three laboratory fabrication procedures of a Michigan splint descriptively and using photographs, comparing one procedure to another. We presented the fabrication of the traditional Michigan splint, i.e., the heat-cured acrylic splint; the CAD/CAM-fabricated splint, and the splint produced using additive manufacturing. The third objective was to draw up a cost plan and calculate the time required to produce each of the three splints. Methods: We searched the World Wide Web for CAD/CAM devices and 3D printers available on the Slovenian market, which are suitable for the fabrication of occlusal splints. The heat-cured splint was fabricated partly in a dental laboratory at the Center for Prosthetic Dentistry, Division of Dental Medicine, University Medical Center of Ljubljana, and partly at the Lobus d.o.o. dental laboratory in Ljubljana. The milled and the 3D-printed splints were produced at the Lobus d.o.o. dental laboratory. All fabrication procedures were photographed and described. The cost comparison of the three splint types was made based on a template from the third year of studies, namely the Dental Laboratory Management course. Using a stopwatch, we measured the time required for the fabrication of each type of splint. Results: On the Slovenian market, there are more than 21 different CAD/CAM systems and more than six additive manufacturing techniques that are suitable for the fabrication of a Michigan splint. Measuring the time required for fabrication and calculating the associated costs, we have found that the fastest method for the fabrication of a Michigan occlusal splint is the CAD/CAM method (247 min). However, this method is also the most expensive (€ 156.58). Cost-wise, the 3D-printed splint (€ 101.99) is comparable to the heat-cured splint (€ 107.44), but they differ in fabrication time. The most time-consuming fabrication method is heated curing (653 min), followed by 3D printing (472 min). Discussion and conclusions: When comparing the laboratory procedures for the fabrication of a Michigan occlusal splint using heat curing, milling, and 3D printing, the 3D printing method demonstrated to be the cheapest. The CAD/CAM fabrication was the fastest, but also the most expensive.
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