[Designing metal frame removable partial dentures]

Abstract

Oral health care providers have the full responsibility for designing metal frame removable partial dentures and making all of the necessary preparations. Important principles of design are that the denture should hamper natural cleaning and daily oral hygiene as little as possible and that it should have good stability and retention. The designing process follows several phases without a strict chronological sequence. If it is necessary to return to a previous phase, the process follows a circular sequence. The usual phases are evaluating dental arch study casts, examining diagnostic set-ups, selecting abutment teeth, surveying dental arch study casts, selecting the major connector, selecting minor connector and clasp types, selecting artificial teeth, modifying the denture design from theoretically ideal towards practically optimal, and carrying out the intended tooth preparations in a dental arch study cast. Tooth preparations in the working cast together with a denture design prescription will provide the dental technician with the information needed for manufacturing the metal frame removable partial denture.