News

Digital Workflow for Establishing the Posterior Palatal Seal on a Digital Complete Denture

Now online in the Journal of Prosthodontics, an article describing a digital workflow to establish the posterior palatal seal (PPS) with an intraoral scanner and CAD software. The posterior palatal seal (PPS) plays important roles in improving denture retention, preventing food and debris from entering under the denture base, reducing the gag reflex, providing more strength across the denture, and making the distal border less noticeable to the tongue.

To overcome some limitations of the digital technique, a non-dental open-source software program was used. Using the extrusion function and the sculpt function, the PPS could be efficiently formed on the scan data of a patient’s existing denture or interim denture.

There was an initial learning curve for using the open-source software program and clinicians must understand the fundamentals of the PPS and the functions of CAD software programs in order to incorporate this workflow effectively.

Using digital technology, the delineated PPS area can be efficiently transferred to a digital cast, and the PPS can be established with less human error.

Lee J-H: Digital workflow for establishing the posterior palatal seal on a digital complete denture. J Prosthodont 2021. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopr.13401

Previous Next

Back to News