RESUMO
Aim of this study was to determine the frequency of occurrence of various patterns of partial edentulism in armed forces personnel seen at the department of Prosthodontics, Armed Forces Institute of Dentistry [AFID]. Utilizing convenience sampling 1000 patients were selected. Kennedy's Classification was utilized after applying Applegate's rules to record the patterns of partial edentulism. Partial edentulism in maxillary arch, was found in 32.6% patients, while 36.8% personnel had partial edentulism in mandibular arch. The remaining 30.6% of samples had missing teeth in both arches. Kennedy's Class III was found to be the most prevalent pattern in both maxilla and mandible. Kennedy's Class III modification 1 was the most common modification encountered in both arches. Highest percentage of combination pattern found was maxillary Class III opposing mandibular Class III. A higher frequency of partial edentulism among the younger age groups found in this study was alarming and is suggestive of the need to create awareness among armed forces health care system for timely prevention of diseases causing tooth loss