Digital versus conventional complete dentures: A randomized, controlled, blinded study.

Area of Science:

• Dental Prosthodontics
• Digital Dentistry
• Removable Prosthodontics

Background:

• Digital workflows for removable prosthodontics are emerging.
• The Baltic Denture System offers a 2-visit digital complete denture procedure.
• Clinical comparisons between digital and conventional denture fabrication are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) between digital and conventional complete dentures.
• To evaluate the impact of digital versus conventional production methods on patient outcomes.
• To assess the fabrication time differences between digital and conventional workflows.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, controlled, blinded crossover trial involving 16 participants.
• Participants received complete dentures fabricated via digital (2 visits) and conventional (5 visits) workflows.
• Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-G49) was used to assess OHRQoL over 3 months; fabrication time was also measured.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in overall OHRQoL (OHIP-G49 scores) between digital and conventional dentures.
• Digital dentures showed increased physical pain at 2 weeks; conventional dentures resulted in less functional limitation and handicap over time.
• Digital denture fabrication took 4 hours, while conventional took 10.5 hours for dentists and technicians.

Conclusions:

• Complete denture fabrication method (digital vs. conventional) did not significantly influence patient-reported OHRQoL.
• Digital workflows substantially reduced fabrication time for both dentists and laboratory technicians.
• Digital dentures require fewer patient visits (2 vs. 5) and less chair time.