Combining Digital Technology and Traditional Principles to Optimize Complete Removable Denture Treatment.

Abstract

The conventional denture fabrication process normally requires at least five visits, taking up considerable chairtime, encompassing multiple laboratory steps, and demanding that patients return to the office every time for treatment. Furthermore, if the denture breaks or gets lost, the fabrication process to make a new one will likely need to be started from the beginning. Today, providers can incorporate digital technology into many of the clinical steps to minimize the number of visits and procedure time needed to fabricate a complete denture. In addition, the materials are more patient friendly as there is less residual monomer in CAD/CAM milled resins. This article presents case studies that exemplify the combination of traditional clinical practices and digital methodologies to maximize efficiency in the denture fabrication process. Intraoral scanning was used to produce a denture prototype, and a traditional myofunctional impression technique was employed with the generated prototype, which was then scanned before a new, properly fitted denture was milled using 3D technology. This process is expedited in a predictable workflow that minimizes laboratory steps and chairtime, offers improved infection control, and leads to higher patient satisfaction.