A Preliminary Report of Designing Removable Partial Denture Frameworks Using a Specifically Developed Software Package

This article reports on a method to digitally survey and build virtual patterns for removable partial denture (RPD) frameworks using a new three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software package developed specifically for RPD design. The procedure included obtaining 3D data from partially dentate casts, deciding on the path of insertion, and modeling the shape of the components of the frameworks digitally. The completed model data were stored as stereolithography (STL) files, which are commonly used in transferring CAD/CAM models to rapid prototyping technologies. Finally, metal RPD frameworks were fabricated using a selective laser melting technique.