Digital versus conventional complete removable dental prostheses fabrications in a predoctoral settings- An In vivo study

Informedconsent from 15 completely edentulous patients (Average 55-60 years of age) willbe taken before participating in the study. Two sets of maxillary and mandibularcomplete removable dental prosthesis will be fabricated for each subject byfourth-year predoctoral dental students.

The 15students participating in the study will receive instructions and training onthe fabrication of digital and conventional complete removable dentalprosthesis as part of their didactic preclinical curriculum.

Each subjectreceives 1 digital and 1 conventional set (Maxillary and mandibular) ofcomplete removable dental prosthesis. The digital complete removable dentalprosthesis will be fabricated as following, primary impression will be scannedas per the 3Shapes protocol for scanning completely edentulous arches,definitive impressions will be made using closed mouth technique. Records andcompleted laboratory work authorization forms will be sent to Precise dentalart laboratory. A class I occlusal relationship will be requested for allcomplete removable dental prosthesis. Laboratory personnel at Precise DentalArt will scan the records using 3shape Trios 3 and submit a virtual tootharrangement for preview and approval before fabricating the dentures. Once thedigital dentures are ready, they will be printed for try in. Post try-in,definitive prosthesis will be printed as a split file, printed, and finished. Theconventional set of complete removable dental prosthesis will be fabricatedwith the 5-appointment process. Post- insertion corrections will be done,following which the patient will wear the denture for a period of one month.

All thestudents in the predoctoral setting will be supervised and guided by faculty. Twoseparate satisfaction questionnaires in the form of 5-point Likert rating scalefrom 0 to 4 will be used by faculty, pre-doctoral students and patients toevaluate and grade the dentures.

The findings are expected to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving denture quality, enhancing dental education, and streamlining prosthodontic services. This research holds potential to influence curriculum development, clinical practice standards, and the broader integration of digital dentistry in healthcare institutions.