EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONAL AND ESTHETIC OUTCOMES OF CAD-CAM BALTIC DENTURE AND CONVENTIONAL DENTURE REMOVABLE PROSTHESES - A CROSS OVER RANDOMISED CLINICAL TRIAL

Conventionalmethod of fabricating Complete Dentures [CD] has been in practice since 1860’s . Bilateral Balanced articulation have been proposed as one of the functionallyadvantageous Denture System in terms of stability, even distribution of forcesand denture comfort . Conventional Complete Dentures and Denturesconstructed with Bilateral balanced Articulation has the additional advantageof predictable aesthetics, as individualised teeth arrangement is possibleincluding characterisation of pink and white aesthetics. Through the years, thecontinuing goal was to overcome all the drawbacks associated with the processof fabrication, and enhancements of the properties of materials used fordenture base and teeth. No significant changes were noted in theimpression making and jaw relation procedures involved with conventionalcomplete denture fabrication. Theintroduction and evolution of computer-aided technology in the field of CDfabrication has considerably reduced the time spent in fabrication and theyclaim with the availability of the necessary armamentarium dentures can befabricated in a single day . The first scientific paper on theuse of a computer-aided system for designing and fabricating CDs was publishedby Maeda et al., in 1994, and these dentures were made by additive RapidPrototyping [RP] technology, from photo-polymerised acrylate material using a3-dimensional Laser Lithographic (LL) machine. It took almost 20years for the emergence of the first commercially available denture systems. Very fewstudies and reports are available on the outcome evaluation of the newlyintroduced Baltic system . The advantage of time and simplicity ofthe procedure have attracted the clinicians and have urged them to cater to thedemanding patients overlooking the cost which is involved in the process.With thementioned advantages and disadvantages of the two systems, it is planned toconduct a clinical trial to study the functional and aesthetic outcomes of thepatient with conventional complete denture system with bilateral balancedarticulation and Baltic denture system.