Modern partial dentures - part 1: novel manufacturing techniques

Abstract

While the conventional fabrication of removal partial dentures through the lost-wax technique is a time-tested technique, it is recognised as a 'complicated, error-prone, time-consuming and expensive process'. This has financial implications and can lead to increased chair time for the patient and dentist, resulting from low precision and ill-fitting frameworks. The use of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture brings removable prosthodontics into the digital era and opens up a host of benefits to the practitioner and laboratory technician. This paper introduces the benefits and downsides to adopting a digital workflow, and looks at the various alternative manufacturing techniques, which allow the clinician and technician to streamline their processes and make use of novel denture materials.