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Article Type

Original Article

Section/Category

Restorative Dentistry

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate two pick-up techniques—digital and functional—for two-implant retained mandibular overdentures with respect to occlusal force distribution using the digital occlusal analysis system (Occlusense®). Patients and Methods: Twenty completely edentulous, healthy patients were selected from the Prosthodontics Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Mansoura University. Conventional complete dentures were first constructed, followed by placement of two implants in the mandibular canine regions using a guided surgical approach and a delayed loading protocol. For each patient, two sets of digitally fabricated mandibular overdentures were constructed. Patients were randomly assigned into two equal groups: Group I received digital complete overdentures with digitally created spacers for attachment placement, while Group II received digital complete overdentures without spacers. Locator attachments were used to retain the mandibular overdentures to the underlying implant fixture, and housings were incorporated using the direct pickup procedure. Occlusal force distribution was assessed at insertion (T0), after two weeks (T1), and after two months (T2). Results: No significant differences between the groups were observed at T0 and T1 across the anterior, premolar, and molar regions. However, at T2, significant differences were detected between the groups in all regions (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, the digital pick-up technique demonstrated more favorable outcomes, providing a more even distribution of occlusal forces compared to the functional pick-up technique after denture settling

Keywords

CAD-CAM, implant, locator attachment, force distribution, occlusense.

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