MECHANICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE IMPLANT TOOTH-SUPPORTED FIXED PARTIAL DENTURE

The implant tooth-supported fixed partial denture presents a biomechan ical design problem, because the implant is rigidly fixed within the a lveolus, and the tooth is surrounded by a periodontal ligament that al lows movement. Nonrigid fixed partial denture designs are advocated by some dentists as a method of compensating for this differential movem ent. Rigid fixed partial denture designs, however, are advocated by ma ny clinicians. Studies have failed to show the advantage of one design over the other, This study developed an in vitro method for testing s uch prosthesis designs and measured movement of a natural tooth abutme nt during simulated function. The movement of the natural tooth abutme nt was not found to change substantially with the fixed partial dentur e designs tested.