Denture Manufacturing: Analogue vs Digital Workflows
A clinical overview of conventional and digital prosthetic workflows, including materials, equipment, and key considerations for each stage of fabrication.
Conventional (Analogue) Workflow
The established gold standard. Relies on manual clinical and laboratory techniques developed over decades. Well-supported by long-term clinical evidence.
Digital (CAD/CAM) Workflow
Computer-aided design and manufacturing replaces key manual stages. Intraoral scanning, virtual articulation, and milled or printed prostheses. Non-inferior outcomes demonstrated in systematic reviews.
Clinical Considerations
Polymerisation Shrinkage
Conventional heat-cure PMMA undergoes volume contraction during polymerisation (approx. 6–8%). Milled digital dentures fabricated from pre-polymerised discs avoid this, resulting in superior dimensional accuracy and fit.
Residual Monomer
Inadequate curing of conventional dentures leaves residual methyl methacrylate monomer, a known irritant and potential allergen. Digital dentures manufactured from pre-polymerised materials have negligible residual monomer content.
Duplicate & Replacement
A critical clinical advantage of digital workflows is the retention of the design STL file. In the event of fracture or loss, an exact duplicate can be fabricated without requiring the patient to return for impressions.
Implant-Retained Prosthetics
Digital workflows integrate directly with implant planning software, allowing virtual placement planning and prosthetic design to occur simultaneously. Surgical guides can be fabricated from the same scan data.
Patient with Limited Tolerance
Intraoral scanning is advantageous for patients with a strong gag reflex, limited mouth opening, or cognitive impairment where cooperation with conventional impression-taking is challenging.