Digital versus conventional techniques for pattern fabrication of implant-supported frameworks.

Objective: The aim of this experimental study was to compare retention of frameworks cast from wax patterns fabricated by three different methods.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six implant analogs connected to one-piece abutments were divided randomly into three groups according to the wax pattern fabrication method ( = 12). Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) milling machine, three-dimensional printer, and conventional technique were used for fabrication of waxing patterns. All laboratory procedures were performed by an expert-reliable technician to eliminate intra-operator bias. The wax patterns were cast, finished, and seated on related abutment analogs. The number of adjustment times was recorded and analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test. Frameworks were cemented on the corresponding analogs with zinc phosphate cement and tensile resistance test was used to measure retention value.

Statistical Analysis Used: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey tests were used for statistical analysis. Level of significance was set at < 0.05.

Results: The mean retentive values of 680.36 ± 21.93 N, 440.48 ± 85.98 N, and 407.23 ± 67.48 were recorded for CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, and conventional group, respectively. One-way ANOVA test revealed significant differences among the three groups ( < 0.001). The Tukey test showed significantly higher retention for CAD/CAM group ( < 0.001), while there was no significant difference between the two other groups ( = 0.54). CAD/CAM group required significantly more adjustments ( < 0.001).

Conclusions: CAD/CAM-fabricated wax patterns showed significantly higher retention for implant-supported cement-retained frameworks; this could be a valuable help when there are limitations in the retention of single-unit implant restorations.