NATAL, Brazil: Digital workflows for complete denture fabrication can reduce clinical and laboratory time and treatment costs. However, these efficiency gains need to be considered in terms of patient satisfaction and quality of life too. Researchers from Brazil therefore compared analogue and 3D-printed complete denture workflows to determine whether the practical advantages of digital fabrication hold up when outcomes that matter to patients are considered as well.
The researchers performed an economic evaluation based on a clinical trial involving 23 edentulous patients. Each participant received both conventionally fabricated or 3D-printed complete dentures, and the order in which they received them was randomly assigned. After wearing the first set for three months, they returned to their existing prostheses for a two-week wash-out period before switching to the other study denture for a further three months. The conventional protocol required five clinical visits, whereas the digital workflow required three.
To assess cost-efficiency, the researchers calculated the provider costs of producing each type of denture, taking into account consumable materials and clinical and laboratory labour. They then evaluated cost-effectiveness by comparing differences in these costs with differences in two patient-reported outcomes: patient satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life.
The digital workflow proved considerably less time- and resource-intensive. Overall, the digital workflow reduced clinical time by almost 50% and active laboratory time by just over 73%, equivalent to savings of about 89 minutes of clinical time and 412 minutes of laboratory work for each complete denture treatment. Estimated provider costs were around 36% lower for the digital workflow, a difference of approximately US$152 (€131*) per case.
The researchers found no significant difference between the two techniques in terms of overall patient satisfaction or oral health-related quality of life. Because the digital approach provided comparable patient-reported outcomes at a lower cost and in substantially less clinical and laboratory time, the digital workflow was the more cost-effective option in the authors’ analysis. The researchers also modelled whether the digital workflow would remain economically preferable if the treatment costs and patient-reported outcomes varied within plausible ranges. The results indicated that this economic advantage remained robust.
For practices and laboratories treating large numbers of edentulous patients, the findings therefore point not only to shorter individual treatment pathways but also to the possibility of freeing clinical and technical capacity. The authors also pointed out that the reduction from five appointments to three may be relevant when treating older patients for whom repeated visits can present an additional burden. Importantly, the time and cost advantages observed in the study were not accompanied by a measurable decline in patient satisfaction or oral health-related quality of life.
The study findings are broadly consistent with previous research on digital complete denture workflows. A systematic review published in 2025 found that digitally fabricated complete dentures generally required less clinical time and were associated with lower overall costs than conventionally fabricated dentures, despite higher material costs. The review too found no clear superiority of either fabrication method in terms of patient-reported outcomes. The current findings therefore add prospective clinical evidence to a growing body of research suggesting that the principal advantages of digital complete denture workflows can be achieved without compromising patient-reported outcomes.
The study, titled “3D-printed versus conventionally fabricated complete dentures: Time-efficiency and cost-effectiveness analysis”, was published online in the December 2026 issue of the Journal of Dentistry.
Editorial note:
* Calculated using the OANDA platform for 30 November 2025.
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