{"id":208615,"date":"2024-01-18T11:34:30","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=208615"},"modified":"2025-09-11T12:21:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T16:21:16","slug":"digitizing-dentures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2024\/01\/digitizing-dentures\/","title":{"rendered":"Digitizing Dentures"},"content":{"rendered":"

The conventional way of making dentures can be tedious. The process can take multiple patient visits and involve complicated laboratory work and potential need for remakes or relines.<\/p>\n

At the UConn School of Dental Medicine, it\u2019s a different story when it comes to the creation of dentures. The School is no stranger to embracing modern dentistry\u2014virtually all disciplines have implemented digital pathways and technology in both the educational and patient care programs.<\/p>\n

The prosthodontics department is just one example of how UConn is adopting the latest technology in dentistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to use conventional techniques to create dentures,\u201d says Dr. Foteini Touloumi, associate professor of prosthodontics at the UConn School of Dental Medicine. \u201cIt was tedious and required a lot of work in the laboratory, so in 2021 we decided to start utilizing digital technology to fabricate dentures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conventional to Digital<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dental school utilizes a \u201cpartial\u201d digital workflow, meaning there are steps done in the laboratory and through digital technology\u2014which includes subtractive\/milling manufacturing techniques and 3D printing.<\/p>\n

From a public health perspective, digital dentistry has a lot of potential, Touloumi says. Digitizing workflows can be easier than conventional methods and much more cost effective and accessible, with less labor required.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, though, incorporating digital technology can result in better patient outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get a better fitting denture,\u201d says Touloumi. \u201cIt\u2019s an acrylic material, but it’s less porous, so less retentive to bacteria. There\u2019s also a digital record of the dentures, so we can press a button and make a brand new one if the patient loses the denture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patient Success<\/strong><\/p>\n

Digital dentistry has been a gamechanger for patient care in the prosthodontics department. Technology in dentistry allows for enhanced versatility for both the patient and the provider, allowing for more effective and efficient approaches to diagnosing the patient and treating accordingly.<\/p>\n

Kathy from Thomaston originally came to UConn because the cost of care was significantly less than care from a private dentist. Kathy needed several tooth extractions and the removal of bony overgrowths to prepare her mouth for dentures.<\/p>\n

With all the dental issues that needed to be addressed, Kathy\u2019s journey to a brighter smile was a long one. When it came to the final product\u2014a new set of dentures\u2014the process was quick and painless.<\/p>\n

\"prosthetic
Dentures fabricated for a patient utilizing the digital denture workflow in the dental arts laboratory at UConn Health. January 16, 2024 (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Using digital technology, providers at UConn were able to seamlessly fabricate a set of dentures that were custom made for Kathy, considering her complex dental history.<\/p>\n

The outcome was \u201ca great pair of dentures that fit incredibly well,\u201d says Kathy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel great about digital dentistry, as it created a pair of dentures that look realistic and fit very well,\u201d Kathy says. \u201cCompared to my old partial dentures they are a 100% improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Enhanced Learning Experience <\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only does digital dentistry benefit patients, but it offers a unique learning experience for students and residents.<\/p>\n

Dr. Audrey Brigham is a first-year prosthodontics resident at UConn. As a graduate of the School of Dental Medicine, Brigham was drawn to UConn\u2019s top-of-the-line prosthodontics program because of the advanced technology used in the laboratory and in chairside patient care.<\/p>\n

Brigham\u2019s desire to go into prosthodontics was inspired by her interest in treatment planning. Prosthodontics is also an ever-changing field, always looking \u201cthree steps ahead,\u201d Brigham says.<\/p>\n

\u201cProsthodontics is a field that has evolved so much and has the capacity to evolve even more in the future,\u201d Brigham continues. \u201cEspecially in the aspect of digital.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prosthodontics department at UConn puts a heavy emphasis on modern dentistry and the learning experience. The dental school has its own mills, 3D printers, and intraoral scanners for patients that can\u2019t tolerate impressions\u2014 all available for students and residents to use.<\/p>\n

\"two
Fourth-year dental student Julia Mainelli and dental laboratory technician look at some dental prosthetics next to 3D printers on January 16, 2024. (Tina Encarnacion\/UConn Health Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The switch from fully conventional methods of fabricating dentures to a partially digitized workflow has given students and residents the best of both worlds, significantly enhancing\u00a0 the learning experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have top of the line machines, products, licenses, and digital planning software,\u201d says Brigham. \u201cWe also encompass everything\u2014 we do conventional, we do digital, and we are always up to date on current research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brigham continues, \u201cWe are learning how to use the intraoral scanners, we\u2019re learning when patients may or may not be good candidates for digital.\u201d<\/p>\n

At UConn, learning digital dentistry starts at the pre-clinical level. Brigham\u2019s dental school class was the first class to experiment with digital dentures. Students typically fabricate three dentures before graduation utilizing the digital workflow.<\/p>\n

No matter where students go\u2014 prosthodontics, orthodontics, or general dentistry – the integration of digital dentistry at a pre-clinical level in the prosthodontics department at UConn gives students a leg up to meet the changes in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe field of dentistry is evolving immensely,\u00a0 and UConn is doing a good job trying to teach their students from the preclinical stage before they graduate to prepare for what the field of digital dentistry will look like in the future,\u201d Brigham says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How UConn\u2019s prosthodontists use digital technology for better patient outcomes and an enhanced learning experience<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":208676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2231,2388,2197,2166,2235,179],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2177],"class_list":["post-208615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-well-being","category-healthcare-workforce","category-litchfield-county","category-sdm","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-health"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 16:42:11","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208615"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235208,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208615\/revisions\/235208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/208676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208615"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=208615"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=208615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}