A survey of crown and fixed partial denture failures: length of service and reasons for replacement

The mean length of service of all restorations observed in this study was 8.3 years. Caries was the most common cause of failure, affecting 22.0% of the units failed and leading to the necessity for replacement of 24.3% of the units observed. Mechanical problems accounted for 69.5% of the failed units as opposed to 28.5% for oral disease. Resin veneer metal crowns provided the longest service of all crown types observed (13.9 years) and failed most frequently because of worn or lost veneers. The complete veneer metal crown had a life span of 6.1 years and was most likely to fail because of caries or defective margins. Ceramic-metal crowns also showed a relatively short period of service at 6.5 years, needing replacement primarily because of porcelain failure or poor esthetics. The resin-veneer metal crown also provided the longest service as a retainer, with a mean length of service of 14.7 years. This was closely followed by the partial veneer retainer (14.3 years), while the ceramic-metal retainer had the shortest life span (6.3 years). No apparent relationship was found between the span of prosthesis and its length of service. The six-unit canine-to-canine fixed partial denture exhibited the greatest longevity of the prostheses studied (10.4 years), while the two-unit cantilever fixed partial denture provided a mean of only 3.7 years of service before replacement was required.