M. Negrutiu, C. Sinescu, M. Rominu, A. Andrei (Romania), M. Hughes, A. Bradu, G. Dobre, and A.G. Podoleanu (UK)
Medical Imaging, Optical Coherence Tomography, Fixed Partial Dentures, Dentistry
In dental restoration, a prosthetic is prepared to replace one or more missing teeth. Fixed partial dentures (FPD) as integral polymeric or metal-polymeric bridges, are mainly used in the frontal part of the dental arch (especially the integral bridges). They have to satisfy high stress as well as esthetic requirements. The masticatory stress may induce fractures of the bridges. These may be triggered by initial materials defects or by alterations of the technological process. The fractures of these prostheses lead to functional, esthetic and phonetic disturbances which finally render the prosthetic treatment inefficient. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the capability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to detect and analyze the possible defects in several FPD’s. The materials used were several integral polymeric and metal-polymeric fixed partial prostheses. In order to discover the defects, scanning was performed from incisal, vestibular, oral and cervical directions. Material defects such as fractures and pores are investigated using OCT. As a conclusion, it is important to have a non invasive method to investigate fixed partial prostheses before their insertion in the oral cavity .
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