Compratative distortion in three-unit fixed prostheses joined by laser welding, conventioanl soldering, or casting in one piece.

This study evaluated three different joint-forming procedures: laser welding, soldering, and one-piece casting. Fifteen three-unit bridges were fabricated. The findings showed post-jointing distrotion to be significantly less for laser-welded and one-piece castings than for soldering; and significantly greater reliability (least error variance) in joining with the laser than either one-piece casting or soldering.