Comparison of patients’ oral health-related quality of life and chewing efficiency between conventional and 3D-printed complete dentures: A crossover clinical trial

Background. Additive manufacturing has introduced novel materials and workflows for complete denture fabrication; however, high-quality clinical evidence comparing patient-centered outcomes of 3D-printed and conventionally fabricated dentures remains limited. This compared oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and chewing efficiency between conventional and 3D-printed dimethacrylate-based resin complete dentures. Methods. Twenty completely edentulous patients were enrolled in this randomized two-period crossover clinical trial. Each participant received both interventions—conventional complete dentures and 3D-printed dimethacrylate-based resin complete dentures—in a randomized sequence. OHRQoL was assessed using the Oral Health Impact Profile for Edentulous Patients (OHIP-EDENT), and chewing efficiency was evaluated using a two-colored chewing gum mixing ability test by calculating the standard deviation of hue (H-SD). Assessments were performed at insertion (T0), after 3 months (T3), and after 6 months (T6). Normality was assessed using the Shapiro–Wilk test. Intra-subject comparisons were conducted using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for OHIP-EDENT scores and paired t-tests for chewing efficiency. Statistical significance was set at P≤0.05. Results. No statistically significant differences were observed between conventional and 3D-printed dentures regarding overall OHIP-EDENT scores or individual domains at T0 , T3 , or T6 (P>0.05). Both denture types demonstrated significant improvements in OHRQoL from the pre-treatment period to T6 (P<0.05). Similarly, chewing efficiency showed no significant differences between denture types across all chewing cycles (P>0.05). Conclusion. Within the limitations of this randomized crossover study, 3D-printed dimethacrylate-based resin complete dentures demonstrated clinical performance and satisfaction comparable to conventional dentures, supporting their use as a reliable alternative in complete denture rehabilitation.