[Research progress in artificial intelligence-driven digital removable partial denture clinical diagnosis and...

Clinical practice of digital removable partial denture (RPD) has undergone two profound transformations, shifting from partial digital substitution to full-process digital intelligent empowerment. In the first transformation, the application of digital technology restructured the RPD clinical workflow and significantly improved the low efficiency and insufficient accuracy of traditional techniques. However, it has failed to fundamentally address issues such as efficient and scientific design as well as technological breakthroughs for better clinical outcomes. At present, artificial intelligence, based on massive clinical data, can deeply integrate personalized implicit expert experience with consensus principles of RPD diagnosis and treatment to construct explicit, data-driven quantitative models. This supports clinicians and technicians in clinical practice, advancing RPD restoration toward computable, optimizable, and widely applicable intelligent decision support. This paper systematically reviews the current application status and efficacy evaluation of artificial intelligence technology in the digital clinical diagnosis and treatment of RPD, covering the research directions of clinical consultation, diagnostic and therapeutic assistance, and RPD design. It further explores the clinical value and development prospects of transforming RPD prosthodontics from a digital substitution model that improves efficiency and quality to a digital intelligent empowerment model that addresses complex design challenges.