The Benefits of Printing Flexible Long-Term Provisional Partials

Long-term temporary partials with flexible bases have long played an important role in restorative and implant dentistry. They adapt to changing intraoral conditions, making them particularly valuable following surgical procedures. For instance, their capacity to accommodate ongoing bone remodeling contributes to a more stable transitional phase prior to definitive treatment. And, from the patient’s perspective, they offer a combination of comfort, esthetics and affordability.

The evolution of additive manufacturing technologies now gives laboratories an alternative to traditional injection molding. With advanced printing systems and specially developed resins, laboratories can design, print and deliver long-term temporary flexible partials via a digital workflow that offers the following benefits:

Appliance design. Users can achieve more sophisticated and functional partial designs, such as fabricating clasps as an integral part...