Non-Cochrane · intervention · PM41368723
Cost-efficiency of digital versus conventional workflow for removable complete dentures: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Muehlemann Elena, Pachiou Aspasia, Sáenz-Ravello Gustavo, et al. · Journal of prosthodontics : official journal of the American College of Prosthodontists · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1111/jopr.70074
Findings
Population Edentulous patients who received a removable complete denture
14 findings
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Total costs (2025 USD) Not specified | MD -357.76 [-1340.14, 624.63] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Oral health-related quality of life | no estimate extracted No studies found 0 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Clinical costs (2025 USD) Not specified · Operator experience: specialists | MD 14.33 [2.31, 26.35] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Number of treatment sessions Not specified · Operator experience: students | MD -3.8 [-4.76, -2.84] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Number of treatment sessions Not specified · Operator experience: specialists | MD -0.4 [-9.69, 8.89] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Clinical costs (2025 USD) Not specified | MD 74.39 [-120.02, 268.79] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Laboratory costs (2025 USD) Not specified · Operator experience: specialists | MD -218.99 [-928.24, 490.43] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Total costs (2025 USD) Not specified · Operator experience: specialists | MD -213.99 [-3448.62, 3020.65] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Laboratory costs (2025 USD) Not specified · Operator experience: students | MD -912.31 [-2575.72, 751.1] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Number of treatment sessions Not specified | MD -1.47 [-6.74, 3.79] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Total costs (2025 USD) Not specified · Operator experience: students | MD -767.48 [-1452.85, -82.11] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Clinical costs (2025 USD) Not specified · Operator experience: students | MD 144.88 [129.15, 160.61] GRADE not reported 1 study |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Patient satisfaction | no estimate extracted No studies found 0 studies |
| Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Laboratory costs (2025 USD) Not specified | MD -239.77 [-714.39, 234.85] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
Included primary studies 5
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casucci 2025 Digital vs. conventional removable complete dentures: A retrospective study on clinical effectiveness and cost-efficiency in edentulous… PMID:39645185 | 2025 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Arakawa 2022 Clinical outcomes and costs of conventional and digital complete dentures in a university clinic: A retrospective study. PMID:33610329 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Otake 2024 Patient-reported outcome and cost-effectiveness analysis of milled and conventionally fabricated complete dentures in a university clinic:… PMID:35440364 | 2024 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Smith 2021 Economic and Clinical Impact of Digitally Produced Dentures. PMID:33196143 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Srinivasan 2019 CAD/CAM milled removable complete dentures: time and cost estimation study. PMID:30213557 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Functional Outcomes of Prosthetic Rehabilitation in Older Adults With Tooth Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. (2026) | 1 | 0.04 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Edentulous patients who have received a removable complete denture | Edentulous patients (184 patients, 202 dentures; n=184) |
| Intervention | Digitally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Digital dentures by milling (3 studies) or milling or 3D printing (2 studies) |
| Comparison | Conventionally designed and manufactured removable complete dentures | Conventional dentures by compression molding (5 studies) |
| Outcomes | Direct costs (laboratory, clinical, total); number of sessions, patient satisfaction, OHRQoL, fit accuracy | Laboratory costs (n=4 studies); clinical costs (n=3); total costs (n=3); number of sessions (n=3); no quantitative OHRQoL or satisfaction data |
| Study designs | RCTs, non-controlled prospective studies, observational studies and case series | 4 retrospective studies and 1 prospective study (n=5) |
| Timing | Not specified | Follow-up not reported for most studies |
AMSTAR 2 items
Two independent extractors rated each item. Their ratings are shown side by side because they have not been reconciled yet. The overall rating follows Shea et al. 2017: one critical flaw gives Low, more than one gives Critically Low.
| Item | Extractor A | Extractor B | Agree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Research question includes PICO components | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 2Protocol established before the reviewcritical | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 3Choice of study designs explained | No | No | yes |
| 4Comprehensive literature searchcritical | No | Partial Yes | no |
| 5Study selection in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 6Data extraction in duplicate | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 7List of excluded studies with reasonscritical | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 8Included studies described in detail | Partial Yes | Partial Yes | yes |
| 9Risk of bias assessed satisfactorilycritical | NRSI: Yes · RCT: N/A | RCT: N/A · NRSI: Yes | no |
| 10Funding of included studies reported | No | No | yes |
| 11Appropriate meta-analysis methodscritical | NRSI: No · RCT: N/A | RCT: N/A · NRSI: Yes | no |
| 12Impact of risk of bias on the pooled results | No | No | yes |
| 13Risk of bias accounted for in interpretationcritical | No | No | yes |
| 14Heterogeneity explained | Yes | Yes | yes |
| 15Publication bias investigatedcritical | No | No | yes |
| 16Conflicts of interest reported | Yes | Yes | yes |
| Overall | Critically Low | Critically Low | yes |