Materials and Methods: The present systematic review was carried out according to PRISMA guidelines. The search was carried out on PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane collaboration, Science direct, and Scopus scientific engines using selected MeSH keywords. The articles fulfilling the predefined selection criteria based on the fit and accuracy of removable partial denture (RPD) frameworks constructed from digital workflow (CAD/CAM; rapid prototyping) and conventional techniques were included.
Results: Nine full-text articles comprising 6 in vitro and 3 in vivo studies were included in this review. The digital RPDs were fabricated in all articles by CAD/CAM selective laser sintering and selective laser melting techniques. The articles that have used CAD/CAM and rapid prototyping technique demonstrated better fit and accuracy as compared to the RPDs fabricated through conventional techniques. The least gaps between the framework and cast (41.677 ± 15.546 μm) were found in RPDs constructed through digital CAD/CAM systems.
Conclusion: A better accuracy was achieved using CAD/CAM and rapid prototyping techniques. The RPD frameworks fabricated by CAD/CAM and rapid prototyping techniques had clinically acceptable fit, superior precision, and better accuracy than conventionally fabricated RPD frameworks.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the GDPs of Karachi. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from 100 GDPs. The questionnaire included general/demographic information (practitioner's education, experience, and place of practice) and an average number of fixed prosthesis constructed by the GDP. The questionnaire was further categorized to evaluate the knowledge/practice of pontic design selection and latest recommendations.
Results: For the maxillary anterior segment, the ridge lap pontic was the most common (32%) followed by the modified ridge lap (28%). In the maxillary posterior segment, the ridge lap pontic was the most common (37%) followed by sanitary design (34%). For the mandibular anterior segment, the modified ridge lap (50%) was the most common followed by ridge lap pontic (17%). In case of the mandibular posterior segment, the sanitary design (34%) was the most common followed by ridge lap pontic (30%).
Conclusions: The pontic design selection for the fixed prosthesis is a neglected domain. The contemporary guidelines are not followed with full spirit by the GDPs leading to wide variations in the pontic design selection.