Removable partial denture in special clinical conditions

Controversies concerning the prosthetic treatment through removable or fixed dentures until the age of 18 existed and continue to exist due to the structural instability of the stomatognathic system. In this communication we present a special experience, acquired about the treatment of some clinical situations in which the removable partial denture has been found appropriate with respect to certain features as bone substance loss as a consequence of traumatisms or tumor extirpations, oligodontia, cleft lip and palate. The clinical situations that will be presented refer to a group of 29 patients treated during a period of 10 years in the Department of Prosthetic Dentistry within the Faculty of Stomatology of Iaşi, Romania. Our conclusion is that the children and teenager patients prosthetic therapy differs with respect to the type and etiology of the teeth loss, the affected zone, the stage of the growth and development process of the stomatognathic system, the technological conditions, the patient social conditions, and last but not least, by his affective attitude regarding the teeth loss and the denture type. The removable partial denture for children and teenagers represents, with some exceptions, an emergency or transitory solution until the necessary conditions for other therapeutic stages are fulfilled. Taking into consideration the tissues lability on which it is applied, the removable partial denture requires a rigorous postprosthetic therapy.