Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Apr 8;12(2):160-170.
doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_310_21. eCollection 2022 Mar-Apr.

Flexural Strength of CAD/CAM Denture Base Materials: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of In-vitro Studies

Reem Abualsaud  1 , Mohammed M Gad  1
Affiliations
Review

Flexural Strength of CAD/CAM Denture Base Materials: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of In-vitro Studies

Reem Abualsaud et al. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. .

Abstract

Introduction: Digital complete dentures fabrication techniques are expanding. This study aimed to review flexural strength (FS) of milled and 3D-printed denture base materials to answer the study question: is FS of computer-aided designing/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) denture base comparable to conventional heat-polymerized materials?

Materials and methods: Search was done within different databases for articles published between January 2010 and June 2021 using specific keywords. Articles of in-vitro studies in English language with methods following International Standards Organization standardization/ADA specifications for flexural testing of conventional and CAD/CAM (milled or printed) polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) materials were included.

Results: Out of the 61 studies, 9 were processed for data extraction and only 7 underwent meta-analysis. Two, six, and one study showed high, moderate, and low risk of bias, respectively. Random-effects model was used for analysis and resulted in the average FS of 120.61 MPa [95% confidence interval (CI): 109.81-131.41] and 92.16 MPa (CI: 75.12-109.19) for CAD/CAM milled and heat-polymerized PMMA, respectively.

Conclusion: Subtractive CAD/CAM technique of denture fabrication showed satisfactory FS values, whereas additive CAD/CAM method was comparable to conventional heat-polymerized technique with lower value, requiring further investigations and improvement. The clinical use of milled denture bases is an acceptable substitution to heat-polymerized PMMA, making the denture fabrication an easier and faster process.

Keywords: 3D-printed denture base; CAD/CAM denture base; PMMA; flexural strength.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Article inclusion and exclusion process
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest plot for milled PMMA
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest plot for heat-polymerized PMMA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Paulino MR, Alves LR, Gurgel BC, Calderon PS. Simplified versus traditional techniques for complete denture fabrication: A systematic review. J Prosthet Dent. 2015;113:12–6. - PubMed
    1. Al-Dwairi ZN, Tahboub KY, Baba NZ, Goodacre CJ, Özcan M. A comparison of the surface properties of CAD/CAM and conventional polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) J Prosthodont. 2019;28:452–7. - PubMed
    1. Infante L, Yilmaz B, McGlumphy E, Finger I. Fabricating complete dentures with CAD/CAM technology. J Prosthet Dent. 2014;111:351–5. - PubMed
    1. AlHelal A, AlRumaih HS, Kattadiyil MT, Baba NZ, Goodacre CJ. Comparison of retention between maxillary milled and conventional denture bases: A clinical study. J Prosthet Dent. 2017;117:233–8. - PubMed
    1. Kattadiyil MT, Goodacre CJ, Baba NZ. CAD/CAM complete dentures: A review of two commercial fabrication systems. J Calif Dent Assoc. 2013;41:407–16. - PubMed