Comparative clinical study of the marginal discrepancy of fixed dental prosthesis fabricated by the milling-sintering method using a presintered alloy

PURPOSE: The present study was designed to examine the clinical fit of fixed dental prosthesis fabricated by the milling-sintering method using a presintered cobalt-chromium alloy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two single metal-ceramic crowns were fabricated via milling-sintering method and casting method in each of the twelve consecutive patients who required an implant-supported fixed prosthesis. In the milling-sintering method, the prosthetic coping was designed in computer software, and the design was converted to a non-precious alloy coping using milling and post-sintering process. In the casting method, the conventional manual fabrication process was applied. The absolute marginal discrepancy of the prostheses was evaluated intraorally using the triple-scan technique. Statistical analysis was conducted using Mann-Whitney U test (α=.05). RESULTS: Eight patients (66.7%) showed a lower marginal discrepancy of the prostheses made using the milling-sintering method than that of the prosthesis made by the casting method. Statistically, the misfit of the prosthesis fabricated using the milling-sintering method was not significantly different from that fabricated using the casting method (P=.782). There was no tendency between the amount of marginal discrepancy and the measurement point. CONCLUSION: The overall marginal fit of prosthesis fabricated by milling-sintering using a presintered alloy was comparable to that of the prosthesis fabricated by the conventional casting method in clinical use.

Precision of the milled full-arch framework fabricated using pre-sintered soft alloy: A pilot study

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the marginal discrepancy of full-arch frameworks in implant-supported prostheses fabricated using pre-sintered soft alloy (PSA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Full-arch metal frameworks were fabricated on the edentulous implant model using casting alloy (CA), fully-sintered hard alloy (FHA), and PSA (n = 4 in each group). To evaluate the misfit of the framework to the abutments, the absolute marginal discrepancy (AMD) values of the frameworks were measured in cross-sectional images that had been drawn as part of the triple-scan protocol. The AMD values were compared among the tested alloy groups using the Kruskal-Wallis test, with a post hoc Mann-Whitney U test (α=.05). RESULTS: The FHA and PSA groups showed lower marginal discrepancies than the CA group (P < .001). However, the FHA group did not differ significantly from the PSA group. CONCLUSION: Soft alloy milling is comparable to hard alloy milling, and it is more precise than casting in terms of the marginal fit of implant-supported, full-arch prostheses.