Labor reduction for mold preparation of a commercial titanium cast denture system using a heat-shock method

The purpose of this study was to investigate the application of a heat-shock method to fabricate titanium cast plates. Duplications of a maxillary model were prepared using DM under different firing schedules. Molds with patterns on the duplications were made by an outer investment (D), followed by heat shock at 850 degrees C. Duplications heat shocked at 850 degrees C after 30 min from mixing exploded within a few minutes. This explosion was successfully avoided by a drying procedure prior to the heat-shock. The molds were available for the heat shock at 850 degrees C when the duplicate models were prepared by firing either using the conventional method and the heat shock above method described. Therefore, we could reduce the preparation time from about 16 hr with the conventional method to about 10 hr at the longest with the heat-shock method. These results suggested that the heat-shock method was labor-saving for fabricating titanium cast denture plates when controlling preliminary conditions prior to use.