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

Statement of problem. Several manufacturers have developed a digital workflow for removable prosthodontics. The Baltic Denture System is a 2-visit procedure for the digital production of complete dentures, but clinical studies comparing the system with conventional methods are lacking.Purpose. The purpose of this randomized, controlled, blinded crossover trial was to evaluate the impact of the digital versus conventional production of complete dentures on oral healtherelated quality of life (OHRQoL) measures.Material and methods. Sixteen participants received 2 sets of new complete dentures produced with a digital (2 visits) and conventional (5 visits) workflow. Each complete denture was in clinical service for an observation period of 3 months. The order of the dentures was randomized, starting with digital or conventional followed by changing the set of dentures after 3 months. The primary outcome was the time-dependent change in the OHRQoL, assessed by using the Oral Health Impact Profile, German version (OHIP-G49), comparing the digital with the conventional workflow. The secondary outcome was the time needed for the fabrication process. The median values of OHIP-G49 total sum scores and OHIP-G49 dimensions were calculated for baseline and 14 days and 3 months after insertion of the dentures. Changes of sum scores over time and differences between the workflows were analyzed by using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (a=.05).Results. The data of 16 participants (11 men and 5 women; 66 +/- 8.5 years) were evaluated. The median values of the total OHIP-G49 sum scores and the sum scores of OHIP-G49 dimensions did not differ between workflows (P>.05). With digital dentures, more physical pain was observed after 2 weeks (P=.039). Participants with conventional dentures had less functional limitation after 14 days and felt less handicapped after 3 months (P=.036). Digital dentures were fabricated within 4 hours, whereas fabrication of conventional dentures took 10.5 hours for dentists and dental laboratory technicians.Conclusions. From the perspective of the participants, the fabrication method of the complete dentures had no significant influence on OHRQoL. However, digital dentures needed only 2 visits, 1 hour less chair time, and 5 hours less time for the dental laboratory technicians. (J Prosthet Dent 2022;128:956-63)

Automated summary

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of digital versus conventional production of complete dentures on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). The results showed that the fabrication method had no significant influence on OHRQoL, but digital dentures had shorter production time, less chair time, and less time required for dental laboratory technicians.