Mechanical properties and microstructure of removable partial denture clasps manufactured using selective laser melting

It was found that the clasps made using lost-wax technique and selective laser melting exhibit comparable mean yield strengths and maximum elastic deformations, however the underlying microstructure of the cast clasps vastly differs from the laser-melted counterparts. Furthermore, the laser melted clasps exhibit larger variability in their mechanical response. While selective laser melting is capable of producing removable partial denture clasps with similar average mechanical responses to those of lost-wax cast counterparts, additional studies should be conducted to minimize the variability in the laser melted clasps in order to minimize unexpected failures.