Fabrication of a new crown and provisional to an existing removable partial denture

A method of fabricating a new crown to an existing removable partial denture is described. A press-form plastic shell made from the diagnostic cast provides the outer contours for the abutment tooth, while an acrylic resin coping is fabricated on a die to provide accurate internal adaptation. The acrylic resin coping is seated on the prepared abutment. Autopolymerizing acrylic resin is mixed and placed in the plastic shell that is then placed in the mouth over the coping, forming the acrylic resin crown pattern. The removable partial prosthesis is fitted over the crown pattern intraorally. The pattern is transferred back to the die, the margins are refined, and the casting is completed and finished, avoiding reduction of the established contours. The same plastic shell is used with tooth-shaded acrylic resin to construct a provisional crown directly in the mouth. This technique allows the patient to wear the removable partial denture while the laboratory procedures are completed.