The purpose of this literature review was to verify the laboratory efficiency of additive manufacturing (AM) systems for removable partial denture (RPD) frameworks. All available relevant articles in English published from 1990 to 2020 were found by searching online databases and by hand research. A total of 17 articles dealt with the surface roughness, fitness accuracy, and retentive forces of AM frameworks. The surface roughness of AM was inferior to that of casting and milling. Whether conventional cast or AM RPD frameworks had superior fitness accuracy could not be clarified. As compared with casting and AM, milling enabled the fabrication of RPD clasps with comparable or better fitness accuracy. Over time, AM clasps had retentive force values of superior consistency as compared with those of conventional cast clasps. Clasps fabricated by repeated laser sintering and high-speed milling could obtain smoother surfaces and more suitable retention than those of AM clasps.
Keywords: Additive manufacturing; CAD/CAM; Metal framework; Rapid prototyping.