Clinical performance of resin-retained fixed partial dentures bonded with a chemically active luting cement

A clinical study was undertaken to review resin-retained fixed partial dentures bonded with a chemically active luting cement during a 4-year period. One hundred thirty-seven fixed partial dentures were reviewed of which five had failed because of a nonbonding failure (esthetics, trauma, fracture) and 47 (36%) had failed after a bonding failure, of which 72% were rebonded. The mean time of failure was 10.9 months (SD 9.8). The failure rate appeared to be affected by position, use of a rubber dam, and the fixed partial denture design, although no one factor reached conventional statistical significance.