The quality of removable prostheses in dentate, community-dwelling elderly residing in Puerto Rico.

PURPOSE: Edentulism has been decreasing in the US elderly population; however, due to the increasing number of elderly, the need for prostheses has been projected to rise over the next several decades. One of the aims of the Puerto Rican Elderly Dental Health Study (PREDHS) was to assess the quality of removable prostheses (RP) in the Puerto Rican (PR) elderly (>69 years of age) population. METHODS: A cross-sectional design, using a subgroup from the Puerto Rican Elderly: Health Conditions (PREHCO) study of dentate, community-dwelling older adults from the greater San Juan area was employed. Eligible participants were administered structured questionnaires and examined in their homes by three trained and calibrated dentists using National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) criteria. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty three (183) participants were examined (61 males, 122 females) (p < 0.001). Overall, 64% were found to have a prosthetic problem with no statistical difference between genders. Unadjusted and age-adjusted logistic models were employed. Increasing age was associated with both upper and lower clinically defined abraded prostheses, (p = 0.007; p = 0.041, respectively). Maxillary (23%) and mandibular (27%) prostheses needed replacement due to deficiencies. CONCLUSION: RP deficiencies were found in almost two-thirds of a representative sample of dentate 70+ year-old people residing in PR. There was no difference in the proportion of deficiencies between elderly who reported a dental visit in the preceding year or not having seen a dentist. A quarter of the prostheses required replacement. The findings from this and the NHANES studies demonstrate that an engaged and recognized prosthodontic dental school faculty continues to be as important now as it was a generation ago.

Survey of partial removable dental prosthesis (partial RDP) types in a distinct patient population.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Current demographic information on the number and types of removable partial dentures is lacking in the prosthodontic literature. PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate patterns of tooth loss in patients receiving removable partial dentures (RPDs) in eastern Wisconsin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Digital images (1502) of casts at 5 dental laboratories in eastern Wisconsin were collected. Any prescription requesting fabrication of a removable partial denture was photographed twice. The first photograph was made immediately upon arrival at the laboratory, while the second photograph was made immediately before being returned to the prescribing dentist for the first time. A calibrated investigator analyzed all the photographs for Kennedy Classification, type of RPD, major connector, and other details. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Fisher's exact test was used to confirm repeatability. RESULTS: Kennedy Class I was the most common RPD with a frequency of 38.4%. More than 40% of prescriptions had no design input from the dentist. One in 3 RPDs used acrylic resin or flexible frameworks. One in 5 RPDs had no rests. The horseshoe major connector was the most common maxillary major connector, while the lingual plate was the most common in the mandible. CONCLUSIONS: RPDs remain a common prosthodontic treatment in this region. Non-metal RPD frameworks are a common treatment type and rarely include rests. These data indicate a changing partially edentulous patient population and a variable commitment to standard levels of prosthodontic care.

Treatment with removable partial dentures: a longitudinal study. Part II.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an oral rehabilitation by removable partial denture (RPD). Between 1983 and 1994, 629 patients were provided with an RPD at the Dental School of the Université catholique de Louvain. All the RPDs were constructed with a cobalt-chromium framework. All the treatments were provided by dental students under the supervision of clinical instructors. At recall time (1998-2000), 269 patients could not be reached neither by telephone nor by mail and 27 had died. Consequently, 333 patients were called for clinical examination and 254 of these (76.3%) actually attended. For a total of 292 RPDs checked 1893 persistent teeth were listed, with 804 serving as abutments; more than half (57.6%) of these were crowned, for which 51 debondings were recorded. For the period of observation we listed 79 abutments lost (37 at the upper jaw and 42 at the lower jaw), i.e. 9.8% of the total number of abutments. No relation could be established between the type of the abutments (natural or crowned teeth) and the losses observed (Test of Mantel-Haenszel: P=0.9496). In the upper jaw, the percentage of abutments lost was significantly higher in the presence of free-end edentulous areas as compared with bounded edentulous areas (Test of Mantel-Haenszel: P=0.0002); this difference does not appear for the lower jaws (P=0.9558). If we deduct the 25 abutments related with the 11 non-worn RPDs and the 79 abutments lost, no change becomes apparent for 92.2% of the maxillary abutments and for 85.8% of the mandibular abutments. For the 1089 other teeth, we observed the loss of 40 teeth and the appearance of caries or new fillings for 95 teeth. The fractures of cast clasps represent 3.4%.

Avaliaçäo da capacidade retentiva de grampos do tipo T e I usados em prótese parcail removível sobre superfícies de esmalte, amálgama e resina composta / Evaluation of tensile bond strength of Tand I type clasps used in removable partial prosthesis for composite resin, amalgam and enamel surfaces

Para a realizaçäo deste trabalho foram utilizados 60 dentes pré-molares recém-extraídos para fins ortodônticos fixados em bases metálicas a base de Co-Cr de forma trapezoidal, especialmente confeccionadas para adaptarem-se a máquina de costura Elgin. Os dentes foram divididos em 6 grupos) Grupo 1 - Grampo "T"em superfície de esmalte, Grupo 2 - Grampo "I" em superfície de esmalte, Grupo 3 - Grampo "T" em superfície de amálgama, Grupo 4 - Grampo "I" em superfície de amálgama, Grupo 5 - Grampo "T" em superfície de resina composta e, Grupo 6 - Grampo "I" em superfície de resina composta), para avaliar a resistência ao deslocamento dos grampos "T" e "I" sobre as supefícies de esmalte, amálgama e resina composta. Os corpos de prova receberam os testes de remoçäo e inserçäo numa máquina de costura Elgin adaptada para esta finalidade. Com um conta-giros foi feita a leitura aos ciclos de 6 meses, 1 ano, 2 anos, 3 anos, 4 anos, 5 anos. Os testes de resistência ao deslocamento axial dos grampos "T" e "I" pós-traçäo foram realizados numa máquina de Ensaio Universal Kratos a cada intervalo de tempo previamente estabelecido. Inicialmente e após cada período dos testes, os corpos de prova juntamente com os grampos foram submetidos à pesagem com o auxílio de uma balança de precisäo...

[Fit of anchors in frame prostheses]. / Pasvorm van ankers bij frameprothesen.

The fit of clasps was assessed in 101 removable partial dentures (RPD), including 54 free-end prostheses without any tooth bound replacements and 47 tooth bound prostheses replacing only premolars and molars. The age and the design of the RPD had a significant influence on the fit: in older and in stress broken free-end RPD's the clasps had a worse fit in terms of standing away from the abutment tooth.

[A device for fixation of partial removable dentures in cases of single-standing teeth]. / Ustroistvo dlia fiksatsii chastichnykh s''emnykh protezov pri odinochno stoiashchikh zubakh.

An outfit for fixing removable dentures in single standing teeth contains internal and external telescopic crowns. The latter is fitted out with a clasp and a cut-out on the oral surface. In order to enhance the design rigidity and denture fixation safety, the two-layer internal crown is placed on the vestibular and approximate surfaces, whereas the clasp on the external layer thereof.