Abstract: Objective: To investigate the influence of digital impression on the clinical adaptation of removable partial dentures (RPDs). Methods: Forty-seven patients with dentition defect of Kennedy Class Ⅲ or Class Ⅳ were selected, and two RPDs were made for each patient, respectively. The patients were taken impression by silicon rubber (the traditional model group) or intraoral digital scanning (the digital model group). The adaptation of retainers, major connectors, base plates, and the occluding accuracy of RPDs were examined and scored. The scoring results were analyzed by χ² test. Results: The retainers' adaptation and occluding accuracy of RPDs fabricated by digital models were better than those fabricated by traditional models (P<0.05), and the adaptation of major connectors and base plates fabricated by two methods was not different (P>0.05). Conclusion: The adaptation of RPDs to natural teeth and the occluding accuracy at denture placement could be improved by digital impression combined with 3D printing resin model.

Key words: Digital impression, 3D printing, Removable partial denture, Clinical adaptation