Resin bonded bridgework in a public health service

Objectives: To investigate some of the clinical variables that may affect the longevity of the resin bonded fixed partial denture [RBFPD] in a public health care facility. Method: A retro-prospective clinical review of patients and records to evaluate the clinical factors that may predispose to failure of RBFPDs placed in the Assir Dental Center based on certain selection criteria was carried out. The variables included patient\u27s age and gender, location and function of pontic in the mouth and the luting cement used. The results were subjected to Chi square and Bivariate regression analyses. Results: Out of the 133 RBFPDs analyzed, 27 [20.30%] failed. Fifteen per cent of these were debonded prostheses, others failed due to dental caries [3.01%], pain and periodontal disease [2.26%] over a 5-year observation period. Conclusion: The choice of luting cement was a critical clinical contributing factor to the failure of the RBFPDs