Comparison of occlusal rest seat preparations to cast metal rests

Abstract

A well designed metal-based removable partial denture (MBRPD) is a cost-effective and a conservative method of rehabilitating a partially edentulous mouth. The MBRPD demands that the abbutment tooth provides support and/or retention while the abutment tooth, in turn, expects the MBRPD to transmit the forces axially and to be passive when fully seated. For vertical forces to be transmitted axially, occlusal rest seats have to be prepared on the abutment teeth to receive a cast metal rest of the MBRPD. The  objective of this study was to compare occlusal rest seat preparations for metal-based removable partial dentures (MBPRD) prepared by dental students at the UWC Oral Health centres, to the corresponding cast metal rests and to determine action taken in response to discovered discrepancies between the rest seat preparation depth and the cast metal occlusal rset thickness.