Complete Denture Fabrication using conventional and digital Technologues : an accuracy comparison

Description :

Complete edentulism is a state in which all teeth are lost in one of the jaws. Defined as being the “final marker of disease burden for oral health’’ (5), it’s quite necessary to compensate this lack for a better quality of life and well- being of the patient. Here lies the importance of a full prosthetic rehabilitation, whether implant or mucosal supported. Contrary to implant-supported prosthesis; retention, support and stability of conventional denture base, solely relies on mucosa. The quality of these factors can fluctuate according to: quality and technique of the impression, occlusion, saliva quantity and viscosity, anatomy of the ridges and the surface of the jaw, quality of the resin being used, and lastly the technique of production of these denture bases. We will be focusing in our study on the latter factor, in other words, on the degree of adaptation between soft tissue and internal surface of the prosthesis. Different manufacturing protocols will be evaluated: two conventional approaches (Pack and press also know as ‘’PAP’’, and pouring) and a digital additive manufacturing process (3D printing) having two different build orientation: 0 and 45 degrees. The two mentioned build orientations were chosen due to conflicting results in literature whether the previous (6) or the latter (4) gives a more accurate result. Several studies evaluated accuracy between different production technologies. Most of them concluded that milling technology is more accurate than 3D printing, except for undercut areas (7). This can be explained by the polymerization shrinkage that can happen