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Effects of periodontal support and fixed splinting on load transfer by removable partial dentures
1Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Tohoku University, School of Dentistry, Sendai, Japan.
Statement Of Problem:
Periodontally compromised abutment teeth complicate the design of bilateral distal extension removable partial dentures.
Purpose:
This study investigated the stress induced in the remaining oral structures by a bilateral distal extension I-bar-retained RPD with periodontally involved abutments in a photoelastic simulation model.
Material And Methods:
Composite photoelastic models were used as a simulation model in determining the stress generating characteristics of I-bar RPDs with varying degrees of periodontal involvement of the distal abutments. Effects of fixed splinting were considered.
Results And Conclusions:
Under the same load conditions, the highest stresses developed in the model with the largest osseous defect. Increasing the number of splinted teeth did not provide a proportional decrease in maximum stress levels. The more severe the osseous defect, the greater assistance was provided by splinting to periodontally sound teeth. This simulation study suggests that routine cross-arch splinting may not be appropriate.