STRAIN ON THE LABIAL PLATES AROUND ABUTMENTS SUPPORTING REMOVABLE PARTIAL DENTURES WITH VARIOUS PROSTHETIC DESIGNS: AN IN VITRO STUDY

Statement of problem. In distal extension removable partial denture, the preservation of health of abutment teeth is very important, but abutment teeth are subjected to unfavorable stress. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical effects of mandibular removable partial dentures with various prosthetic designs using strain gauge analysis. Material and methods. Artificial teeth of both canines were anchored bilaterally in a mandibular edentulous model made of resin. Bilateral distal extension removable partial dentures with splinted and unsplinted abutments were fabricated. Group 1 : Clasp-retained mandibular removable partial denture with unsplinted abuhnents Group 2 : Clasp-retained mandibular removable partial denture with splinted abutments by 6-unit bridge Group 3 : Bar-retained mandibular removable partial denture Strain gauges were bonded on the labial plate of the mandibular resin model, approximately 2 mm close to the abutments. Two vertical experimental loadings (100N and 200N) were applied subsequently via two miniature load cells that were placed at mandibular first molar regions. Strain measurements were performed and simultaneously monitored from a computer connected to data acquisition system. For within-group evaluations, t-test was used to compare the strain values and for between-group comparisons, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used and Duncan test was used as post hoc comparisons. Results. Strain values increased as the applied load increased from 100N to 200N for all groups (p<.05). The strain values of group 1 and 2 were tensile under loadings. In contrast, strain values of group 3 were compressive in nature. Under 100N loading, group 1 showed higher strain values than group 3 in absolute quantity (p<.05). Under 200N loading, group 3 showed higher strain values than group 1 and 2 in absolute quantity (p<.05). Group 1 showed higher strain values than group 2 (p<.05). Conclusion. Splinting of two isolated abutments by bridge reduced the peri-abutment strain in comparison with unsplinted abutments. Strain of bar-retained removable partial denture increased much more as applied load increased, but was compressive in nature.