Do CAD/CAM dentures really release less monomer than conventional dentures?

Area of Science:

• Dental prosthetics
• Materials science

Background:

• Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) dentures are increasingly used.
• It is hypothesized that CAD/CAM dentures possess superior material properties, including reduced methacrylate monomer release, compared to conventional dentures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that CAD/CAM dentures exhibit lower methacrylate monomer release than conventionally fabricated dentures.
• To compare physical properties such as volume, weight, density, and surface area of CAD/CAM and conventional dentures.

Main Methods:

• Four different CAD/CAM systems and conventional heat-polymerised dentures were used.
• Denture weight, volume, density, and surface area were measured.
• Methacrylate monomer release was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography after 7 days of water storage.

Main Results:

• CAD/CAM dentures from Whole You Nexteeth and Wieland Digital Dentures showed significantly lower volume and weight than conventional dentures.
• Baltic Denture System and Whole You Nexteeth exhibited significantly increased density.
• No significant difference in methacrylate monomer release was observed between CAD/CAM and conventional dentures.

Conclusions:

• While CAD/CAM dentures offer benefits like reduced weight and volume, potentially enhancing patient comfort and mechanical properties, they did not demonstrate significantly lower methacrylate monomer release than conventional dentures.
• The study did not verify the hypothesis regarding reduced monomer release for CAD/CAM dentures compared to conventional ones.
• Further research may explore differences with other denture base materials like autopolymerising resins.