A Digital Workflow for the Fabrication of a Milled Removable Partial Denture

Abstract

Complete dentures fabricated with the additive or subtractive method have been widely used and proven to be clinically acceptable. However, fabrication of removable partial dentures (RPDs) using computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing is limited by its technique sensitivity as the pink resin, which encases part of metal framework, cannot be fabricated digitally. This article introduces a digital workflow to fabricate an RPD with the subtractive method. A complex structure of the offset metal framework and denture base with teeth sockets was milled with this technique. Artificial teeth were milled with a resin disk according to the computer-aided design data, resulting in the customized occlusal surface. This digital technique can be an alternative to the analog fabrication method as the RPD was fabricated digitally, keeping the original structures and reducing resin shrinkage on the intaglio surface.