ABUTMENT

EVALUATION IN
FIXED PARTIAL
DENTURES
 Several factors must be weighed
when choosing the type of prosthesis
to be used in any given situation.
Important ones are:
 Biomechanical factors.
 Periodontal factors.

 Esthetics.

 Financial factors.

 Patient’s wishes.
 Abutment Evaluation
 Abutment teeth are called upon to
withstand the forces normally
directed to the missing teeth, in
addition to those usually applied to
the abutments.
 If the endodontically treated tooth
does not have sound tooth structure,
it must treated through the use of a
dowel core, or a pin-retained
amalgam or composite resin core
 Teeth that have been pulp capped in
the process of preparing the tooth
should not be used as FPD
abutments unless they are
endodontically treated.
 The roots and their supporting
tissues should be evaluated for 3
factors:

 Crown-root ratio.
 Root configuration.

 Periodontal ligament area.

 Crown root ratio
 It is a measure of the length of
the tooth occlusal to the alveolar
crest of bone compared with the
length of the root embedded in
the bone.
 The optimum
crown-root-ratio
for a tooth to be
utilized as a fixed
partial denture is
2:3 and a 1:1 ratio
is the minimum
acceptable under
normal
circumstances.
 Studies by Klaffenbach in 1936 have
shown that occlusal forces exerted
against prosthetic appliances has
been shown to be considerably less
than that against natural teeth.
 FPD against RPD  26.0lb
 FPD against FPD  54.4 lb
 FPD against natural teeth  150.0lb
 Root configuration
 Roots that are broader labio-
lingually are preferable to roots that
are round in cross section.
 Multirooted posterior teeth
with widely separated roots
will offer better periodontal
support than roots that
converge, fuse or generally
present a conical
configuration.
 The tooth with conical roots
can be used as an abutment
for a short span fixed partial
denture if all other factors
are optimal.
 A single rooted tooth with evidence
of irregular configurations or with
some curvature in the apical third is
preferable to the tooth that has a
nearly perfect taper
 Periodontal ligament
area
 Larger teeth have greater surface area
and are better able to bear added
stress.

 Kalkwarf in 1986 showed that

millimeter per millimeter, the loss of
periodontal support from root
resorption is only 1/3 to ½ as critical as
the loss of alveolar crestal bone.
 Johnston et al in 1971 in their
statement designated as “Ante’s law”
said that the root surface area of the
abutment teeth had to equal or
surpass that of the teeth being
replaced with pontics.
 Fixed partial dentures with short
pontic spans have a better prognosis
than those with long spans.

 Failures with long span bridges

have been attributed to leverage and
torque than overload.

 Biomechanical factors and material

failure play an important role in the
failure for long span restorations.
 Biomechanical
Considerations
 All fixed partial dentures, long or
short spanned bend and flex.
 A pontic with a given occlusogingival
dimension will bend 8 times if the
pontic thickness is halved.

 To minimize flexing caused by

long/short spans, pontic designs
with a greater occlusogingival
dimension should be selected.
 The prosthesis may also be
fabricated of an alloy with a higher
yield strength, such as nickel-
chromium
 The dislodging forces of a fixed partial
denture retainer tend to act in a
mesiodistal direction, as opposed to the
more common buccolingual direction of
forces on a single restoration.
 Preparations should be modified
accordingly to produce greater
resistance and structural durability.
 Multiple grooves, including some on
buccal and lingual surfaces are
commonly employed for this purpose.
 Double abutments
are sometimes
used as a means of
overcoming
problems created
by unfavourable
crown-root ratios
and long span.
 A secondary
abutment must
have atleast as
much root
surface area
and as
favourable a
crown-root
ratio as the
primary
abutment.
 E.g.: A canine can be used as a
secondary abutment to a first
premolar primary abutment, but it
would be unwise to use a lateral
incisor as a secondary abutment to a
canine primary abutment.
 Arch curvature has its effects on the
stresses occurring in a fixed partial
denture.

 When the pontics lie outside the

intra abutment axis line, the pontics
act as a lever arm which can
produce a torquing movement.
 SPECIAL PROBLEMS
Pier abutments
 An edentulous space can occur on
both sides of a tooth, creating a
lone, freestanding pier abutment.
 It has been theorized that forces
are transmitted to the terminal
retainers as a result of the middle
abutment acting as a fulcrum,
causing failure of the weaker
retainer.
 The use of a non-rigid connector has
been recommended to reduce this
hazard.
 The key way of the connector should
be placed within the normal distal
contours of the pier abutment and
the key should be placed on the
mesial side of the distal pontic
Tilted Molar Abutments

 A common problem that occurs is the

mandibular second molar abutment
that has tilted mesially into the space
formerly occupied by the first molar.

 There is further complication if 3rd

molar is present. It will usually have
drifted and tilted with the 2nd molar.
 If the encroachment is slight, the
problem can be remedied by
restoring or recontouring the mesial
surface of the third molar with an
overtapered preparation on the
second molar.
If the tilting is severe, other corrective
measure will have to be followed.
 The treatment of choice is
uprighting of the molar by
orthodontic treatment.
 A proximal half crown can be used as a
retainer on the distal abutment. This
preparation design is a 3 ¼ crown that
has been rotated 90°. It can be used
only if the distal surface is untouched
by caries.
 A telescoping crown and coping can
also be used as a retainer for the tilted
molar.

 A full crown preparation with heavy

reduction is made to follow the long
axis of the tilted molar.
 A non-rigid connector is another

solution to the problem.

 Canine Replacement
Fpds
 This is a problem because often the
canine lies outside the
interabutment axis.

 The abutments are the lateral

incisor, usually the weakest in the
entire arch and the first premolar,
the weakest posterior tooth.
 Cantilever FPDs
 A cantilever FPD is one that has an
abutment or abutments at one end
only, with the other end of the pontic
remaining unattached.

 This is a potentially destructive

design with the lever arm created by
the pontic.
 Abutment teeth for cantilever FPDs
should be evaluated for lengthy
roots with a favourable
configuration, good crown root
ratios and long clinical crowns
 Generally,cantilever FPDs should
replace only one tooth and have atleast
2 abutments.

A cantilever can be used for replacing a

maxillary lateral incisor with canine as
the abutment.
 There should be no occlusal contact on

the pontic in either centric or lateral

excursions.
 A cantilever pontic can also be used
to replace a missing 1st premolar
with second premolar and 1st molar
as abutment.

 The occlusal contact should be

limited to the distal fossa on the 1st
premolar pontic.
 Cantilever FPDs can also be used to
replace molars when there is no
distal abutment present.

 Most commonly the 1st molar is

replaced with the 2 premolars as
abutments.
 The pontic should have maximum
occlusogingival height, there should
be light occlusal contact on the
pontic with no contact in any
excursions.

 Buccolingual width should be kept

minimum and the pontic should
resemble more of a premolar