Prosthodontic management of ridge deficiencies

The treatment goals in prosthodontics and dental laboratory technology are to provide patients with long-term predictable and esthetic outcomes. The periodontal tissues define the framework that will maintain ridge height, thickness, color, texture, and gingival-tooth frame. The loss of teeth, residual ridge resorption and the loss of gingival tissues continue to affect long-term and esthetic treatment outcomes. Prosthodontic treatment requires consideration of the potential negative tissue effect that time and normal biologic change might have on the completed prosthetic design. This article describes alternative restorative solutions for clinical conditions that have traditionally been managed by surgery, removable prosthodontics, or esthetically compromised fixed restorations. Different clinical conditions for tooth-retained and implant-retained fixed partial dentures as well as the laboratory technology describing construction of these different restorations will be discussed.