Factors in Designing for Removable Partial Dentures

Factors In Designing For Removable Partial Dentures

Factors In Designing for Removable Partial Dentures

When designing removable partial dentures, the technician is faced with a partially edentulous space and remaining teeth. There are many factors that are needed to put into consideration. The objective of designing a removable partial denture includes the restoration of function, enhancement of esthetic and most importantly the preservation of the remaining teeth and periodontal structures (Krol, Jacobson, Finzen 1990). Designing is the hardest and most important part in a removable partial denture. It has to meet the requirements of not only the dentist but, also the patient. The dentist is more focus on function while the patient leans more toward esthetics. A removable partial denture needs to be comfortable for the patient while have all the functions of a natural dentition.

The first step in designing a removable partial denture is the classification of the location of the edentulous areas in relation to the remaining teeth. These are grouped and are known as the Kennedy classifications (Stratton, Wiebelt 1988). The four classes are:

Class I - a bilateral edentulous areas located posterior to the remaining natural teeth.

Class II - a unilateral edentulous area located posterior to the remaining natural teeth.

Class III - a unilateral edentulous area with natural teeth remaining both anterior and posterior to it.

Class IV - a single, but bilateral (crossing the midline) edentulous area located anterior to the remaining natural teeth.

When the specific classification is determined, this will help the technician design the best approach to restore the function of the removable partial denture.

Many factors contribute to the purpose of a removable partial denture. Speech can be altered when a patient has missing teeth. A removable partial denture would replace those missing teeth and the possibility of maintaining or improving a person's phonetics would increase (Phoenix, Cagna, Defreest 2003). Another function of a removable partial denture would establish masticatory efficiency. The technician needs to make sure that the designs will evenly distribute the stress across the remaining teeth and residual ridges to prevent trauma. This can be accomplished by using additional rests and clasp assemblies (Phoenix, Cagna, Defreest 2003). Stabilizing dental relationships is another function of a removable partial. When teeth are missing, the remaining ones can change position, drifting into the surrounding space. Teeth that are out of position can damage tissues in the mouth. (McCord, Grey, Winstanley, Johnson 2003).

Esthetics is important to the removable partial denture design. When considering esthetics one should put color, contour, proportion, symmetry, outline form, soft tissue harmony