Digital Denture Fabrication

Three basic steps for digital denture fabrication include data acquisition, data processing (designing), and prosthesis manufacturing.²⁸

• Data acquisition: The data may be registered using an intra-oral scanner (IOS) in the dental practitioner’s office that helps acquire the information directly from the patient’s oral cavity or by making conventional impressions (or master casts) and records. The conventional impressions (or master casts)/records are then sent to the laboratory where they are scanned using extra-oral scanners. The data acquired from the IOS is electronically sent to the laboratories.

• Data processing: Data processing is accomplished using reverse engineering and computer-aided designing (CAD) software programs.

• Prosthesis manufacturing: The prosthesis may be manufactured through the subtractive or additive method. With the subtractive method, the denture base is milled from a prepolymerized resin block while additive manufacturing, also known as 3-dimensional (3D) printing comprises of techniques that fabricate the prosthesis layer by layer.