Why dentures went digital
A conventional denture needs multiple appointments for impressions, records, try-ins and adjustments. A digital workflow compresses that: scans and records are captured once, the denture is designed in software, and the finished base and teeth are printed or milled with a fit that is repeatable if a duplicate is ever needed.
For labs, the other advantage is archiving. Every design is stored as a project file, so a lost or broken denture can be reproduced without starting from impressions again.
The records the design depends on
Digital denture design is only as good as the records it starts from. The software can position teeth precisely, but it needs correct vertical dimension, midline and occlusal plane information to know where they belong.
- Scans of both edentulous ridges, or of the master impressions
- Bite registration at the correct vertical dimension
- Midline, canine lines and smile line marked on a rim or photo
- Photos with the old denture, if one exists, as a reference for what to keep or change
- For immediate or implant cases: the extraction plan or implant positions
How the setup is designed
Tooth libraries in the CAD software contain full sets of anterior and posterior moulds. The designer selects a mould that suits the arch size and the patient's age and face, then positions each tooth on the ridge following the recorded planes. Overjet, overbite and the occlusal scheme — lingualised, balanced or monoplane — are set according to the prescription.
The base is then designed around the setup: border extensions follow the scanned sulcus, relief is applied over sensitive areas, and the palate and festooning are shaped so the finished denture looks natural rather than machine-made.
Try-in and production
Before the definitive denture, a monolithic try-in can be printed cheaply. The patient wears it, the clinician checks phonetics, occlusion and aesthetics, and any change is made in the design before the final version is produced. This single step removes most remakes.
The final denture is either printed in a denture-base resin with printed or prefabricated teeth, or milled from a pre-shaded PMMA disc. Both routes come from the same approved design file.
What to send us
Send the ridge scans, the bite record and the marked-up photos or rim, and we return a design ready for try-in or production. Details of what we deliver are on our full denture design service page.