OBJECTIVE: To design and fabricate edentulous custom trays by chair-side computer-aided design and 3-dimensional printing (CAD/3DP) system of independent research and development and to evaluate their clinical effects based on prosthodontists'satisfaction using the visual analogue scale (VAS). METHODS: Fifteen edentulous patients were randomly recruited by three prosthodontists who passed the unified operating process training. The custom trays for each patient were fabricated using both chair-side CAD/3DP system of independent development and manually conventional method, and the final impressions were made by silicone impression materials (light body). The prosthodontist's satisfaction was surveyed by the three prosthodontists via the questionnaire based on visual analogue scales. RESULTS: In the degree of the prosthodontist's satisfaction of final impressions, the average satisfactions of "try in" (the overall size, shape, convenience, etc.) on the 3DP custom tray made by independent development chair-side system and the manually conventional method were 9.18±0.19 and 8.23±0.22, respectively. The average satisfactions of the border line position (border extensions, frenal notch)were 8.91±0.40 and 7.96±0.23, respectively. The average satisfactions of the stability in border molding were 8.80±0.83 and 8.01±0.81, respectively. The average satisfactions of the quality of final impression (completeness, thickness of impression material, exposure of custom tray, shape of border) were 8.94±0.68 and 7.99±0.42, respectively. The average satisfactions of the difficulty of high quality impression (times of repetition, efficiency) were 9.20±0.37 and 7.88±0.22, respectively. The average satisfactions of the overall satisfaction were 9.11±0.49 and 7.95±0.15, respectively. There was significant difference in the satisfaction of "try in", border line position, stability in border molding, quality of final impression, difficulty of high quality impression, and overall satisfaction between the 3DP custom tray made by chair-side system of independent development and the manually conventional method (P<0.05). CONCLUSION In the degree of the prosthodontist's satisfaction of final impression, the 3DP custom tray made by chair-side system of independent development is higher than that of the conventional custom tray, and it meets the clinical requirements and can be popularized in clinical application.
Computer-Aided Design ; Dental Impression Materials ; Dental Impression Technique ; Humans ; Mouth, Edentulous ; Printing, Three-Dimensional