With advent of cad/cam milling and 3d digital printing technology, digitally made dentures are no longer a thing of the future. They are here, and probably here to stay. Does that make them better than traditionally made dentures?
I would argue everything is still very dependent on the clinicians’ expertise. Currently, with most digital denture systems, the clinical steps are still done manually. Therefore the fit, bite, and vertical dimension of the denture can only be as good as the impressions and other measurements taken. Over the years while teaching I found that most practitioners that have struggled to make successful dentures, mainly struggle with taking proper impressions and bite registrations. If these people switch to a digital process, all that changes is the ability to minimize laboratory error when fabricating the dentures. I would say for people who already take proper records, digital dentures may fit and work even better.
That being said these same practitioners that don’t struggle probably won’t switch to the digital process until all the kinks are worked out, because the conventional method works well for their patients. The digital denture market had one or two big players about 5 years ago, now there are too many to count. Software, materials, and techniques are changing rapidly. Long-term data relating to prosthetic success and patient satisfaction for many of the new systems and materials are not available yet. So how is a practitioner to know with certainty how successful these new materials and processes will be? Time will tell. I believe digital dentures are here to stay, and as time goes on and all the details are ironed out they will eventually be a superior product. For now, I believe conventional dentures made with proper records, are a more predictable option.