Application of titanium casting to removable dentures and future development

Abstract

Titanium has established a solid reputation in medical and dental fields as an alloy with excellent biocompatibility. In our department, it is considered that titanium should be used not as a substitute for conventional dental alloys but as a safer material for prosthetic devices placed in the oral cavity. For the past 25 years, we have positively applied cast titanium frameworks and delivered more than 1,000 titanium dentures. The problems with titanium dentures have been investigated in the laboratory and by follow-up observation, and have been resolved based on basic research and technical and clinical ideas. As a result, greater usefulness of titanium as a metal for denture frameworks has been confirmed, and clinical applications and new possibilities are actively being pursued.
In this paper, the clinical problems and solutions are summarized from the standpoint of a removable denture specialist. Titanium dentures fabricated not only by casting but also by milling and metal additive manufacturing are also discussed.