Affiliation:
1. Associate Dentist, The Broadway Dental Practice, Catford, London, SE6 4SN and Specialty Doctor in Prosthodontics, Eastman Dental Hospital, 47-49 Huntley Street, London WC1E 6DG, UK
Abstract
The current trend, and often gold standard, for replacement of missing teeth is implant-retained fixed or removable prostheses. These, however, are not always suitable, whether due to financial constraints, or the patient wishing to avoid the associated surgical treatment. Utilizing crowns as retainers for partial removable dental prostheses in such cases can provide a favourable aesthetic and functional outcome, whilst avoiding many of the retentive pitfalls that patients fear are associated with a removable appliance. CPD/Clinical Relevance: A systematic approach is required when approaching failing bridgework in order to overcome the unique challenge involving unpredictable abutment status, which often cannot be appraised until the bridgework is dismantled.