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DDentists replace missing, damaged, and severely de-ayed teeth by fixed or removable prostheses to restore r improvemasticatory function. There is a fundamental uestion in any treatment plan, namely, the desirable/ andatory length of an occlusal table. There have been arious references in the literature to the concept of the hort dental arch (SDA) as a defined treatment option or the partially dentate patient. While many dentists ay accept that restoring the complete dental arch is ot always necessary, there still is the need to provide and premolar regions meet the requirements of a func-tional dentition.8,9 It follows that the replacement of missing molar teeth by cantilevers, resin-bonded fixed partial dentures, implant-supported prostheses, or distal extension removable partial dentures may amount to over-treatment for patients with shortened dental arches. Masticatory efficiency Masticatory efficiency and masticatory ability are im-portant components of oral functionality, but patient adaptation to changes in dental arch length with pro-gressive loss of teeth is critical to successful treatment. The literature on masticatory efficiency and masticator