ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:With the increasing demands on the aesthetics of dentures, non-metal clasp dentures (also known as concealed dentures or flexible dentures) that are made of injection-molded thermoplastic denture base resins, have been popularized in the dental field due to their excellent aesthetic performance, good flexibility and biocompatibility. OBJECTIVE:To review the types, properties and clinical applications of injection-molded thermoplastic denture base resins. METHODS:The first author searched PubMed, Wiley, Springer, OVID, ScienceDirect, Google and CNKI databases for relevant articles published from January 1955 to April 2017 using the key words of "polyamide AND denture, thermoplastic denture base resin, non-metal clasp denture, nylon, flexible denture" in English and Chinese, respectively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There are five main types of injection-molded thermoplastic denture base resins used as denture materials, including polyamides, polycarbonates, polyesters, acrylics and polypropylenes, which have good elasticity, suitability, beauty and biocompatibility and can be widely used in the dental field. However, further improvement in the performance of injection-molded thermoplastic denture base resins is warranted, including unstable coloring, bacteria adhesion and difficulty in material polishing and relining.