Aim: To evaluate the accuracy and oral health-related quality of life in patients with selective laser melted versus conventional metallic maxillary single denture base.
Materials and methods: Twenty-six maxillary edentulous patients were included in this study. Each patient randomly received two maxillary metallic complete dentures (selective laser melted and conventional) in a randomized crossover study design. Two groups were investigated; the selective laser melted Co-Cr group (SLM Co-Cr) and the conventional Cobalt Chromium (casted Co-Cr) group. A colour-mapping software was used to superimpose the STL (standard tessellation language) file of each metallic maxillary denture base with the reference design STL file. The root mean square (RMS) was used to evaluate the groups' accuracy. The oral health-related quality of life was evaluated in both groups at 1-week and 3-month followed-up visits using the Oral Health Impact Profile for Edentulous (OHIP-EDENT) questionnaire.
Results: The SLM Co-Cr group showed statistically significant superior accuracy with the lowest deviations with an overall root mean square (RMS) value of 0.19 mm, while the casted Co-Cr group showed an overall RMS value of 0.38 mm. Moreover, the patients in the SLM Co-Cr group reported a significantly better oral health-related quality of life compared to those in the casted Co-Cr group.
Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, the selective laser melted cobalt chromium denture base may exhibit significantly superior accuracy and improved patients' oral health-related quality of life compared to the conventional cobalt chromium base in maxillary single denture cases.