Masticatory performance and patient satisfaction of metal-reinforced and CAD/CAM-fabricated acrylic resin mandibular complete dentures

Abstract

Background/aim The masticatory problem of removable complete dentures had been introduced by many researchers to be assisted by many recent technologies. Solving such issues advances self-patient satisfaction, confidence, and motivation. This study aimed to evaluate masticatory performance and patient satisfaction of metal-reinforced and CAD/CAM-fabricated acrylic resin mandibular complete dentures. Patients and methods Sixteen completely edentulous patients were divided randomly following a 1 : 1 allocation ratio into two groups; group I received maxillary and mandibular complete dentures constructed from acrylic resin reinforced with chrome cobalt framework and group II received maxillary and mandibular rapid prototype complete dentures (3D-printed) using the CAD/CAM technique. At baseline, 2, and 4 weeks, masticatory performance using the masticatory efficiency index and patient satisfaction using Borerrigter’s method of assessing patient satisfaction were evaluated at each interval for further statistical analysis using one-way analysis of variance test followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test for multiple comparisons and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between different variables. Results Regarding masticatory performance for each group, one-way analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between different intervals as a P value less than 0.05 with higher masticatory values for group II, while for patient satisfaction, it showed an insignificant difference for all satisfaction domains as a P value more than 0.05. The correlation between masticatory performance and overall patient satisfaction was calculated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and revealed a moderate to strong, positive, significant correlation in both groups. Conclusion The masticatory performance and patient satisfaction of mandibular complete dentures constructed by the 3D-printed CAD/CAM method were higher than acrylic resin denture bases reinforced with chrome cobalt framework, denoting that the 3D-printed CAD/CAM method can be the primary clinical treatment option for completely edentulous patients despite its overall level of satisfaction, which requires additional follow-up investigations to pronounce the positive effect of CAD/CAM dentures.