Abstract

OWEN, C Peter. A simplified and evidence-informed approach to designing removable partial dentures. Part 2. The biomechanical basis of support. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2023, vol.78, n.9, pp.463-466. ISSN 0375-1562.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sadj.v78i09.17387.

For many decades the literature has regularly reported that there is a discrepancy between what is taught in dental school and what is practised, especially in the field of removable partial dentures. Not only that, but for more than 60 years reports from around the world have shown that, usually, the majority of clinicians abdicate their responsibility to design a removable partial denture (RPD) and instead leave this to the dental technician, who has no knowledge of the clinical condition of the patient and works only from a cast. Most patients around the world who require RPDs to Improve aesthetics and chewing can only afford a removable prosthesis simply because the majority are poor. But RPDs can improve these aspects and contribute to an improved quality of life. The purpose of this series of articles is to derive the basic, evidence-informed principles of partial denture design and to suggest a simplified explanation and application of those principles in the hope that clinicians will increasingly take responsibility for the design of partial dentures. Part 1 summarised studies revealing what can only be described as the malpractice of abdication of responsibility for design by clinicians, and then explained the evidence-informed basic principles of design; Part 2 will look at the biomechanical basis of those principles in terms of support; Part 3 will do the same for the biomechanical basis of retention; Part 4 will provide a simple seven-step approach to design, applied to an example of an acrylic resin-based and a metal framework-based denture for the same partially edentulous arch; and Part 5 will provide examples of designs for RPDs that have been successfully worn by patients, for each of the Kennedy Classifications of partially dentate arches. Much of this is referenced from an electronic book on the Fundamental of removable partial dentures.¹

Keywords : Removable partial denture; design; support; retention; acrylic-based; framework-based.

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