Precise-Fit™: A System for Digitally Designing and Printing a Trial Baseplate

With Precise-Fit from Valplast International Corp., Valplast dentures can now be designed and blocked-out from any digital scan or .stl file and output to a unique printed base that can be tried into the patient’s mouth. All design is done digitally, eliminating duplicate models and traditional waxups with a trial baseplate printed using a proprietary flexible resin and 3D digital printer.

The Precise-Fit baseplate lets dentists evaluate jaw relation and tooth arrangement, as well as preview the fit of the final restoration before processing. The lab can process the baseplate without duplicating the master cast, rearticulating duplicate models, transferring the denture teeth to a duplicate model or final waxing. The digitally designed blockout and relief is taken into account along with any adjustments made to the trial base by the dentist. The resulting denture requires less time to fit and finish, saving the laboratory valuable time and money.

First introduced in 2012, the Precise-Fit service hasn’t been available to labs until this year. “Unfortunately just as things were getting started, Hurricane Sandy hit and put everything back a little bit,” said Nabil Parkar, Marketing Strategist for Valplast. “But we’re now operating at full swing.”