Classification of Edentulous Ridges for Fixed Partial Dentures

Edetulous Ridge is the Alveolar bone left after the loss of Teeth in the Maxillary and Mandibular jaw. There might be many reasons or causes for the loss of Teeth which will be affecting the shape and size of the bone present in the Alveolar Ridge. The shape, size and the type of bone in the Partial Edentulous Ridge will in turn, affect the type of prosthodontic treatment needed to replace the missing teeth.

With Implants gaining popularity, the width of the bone in Bucco-lingual direction and the height of bone available plays a major role in deciding the success of Implants and also in deciding the type of Implant to be used. There are different types of Dental Implants available based on Size, shape and area of the oral cavity.

Classification of Edentulous Ridges for Fixed Partial Dentures

In Diagnosis and treatment planning of Fixed Partial denture fabrication, the most important part is the classification of the edentulous ridges of the patient which helps us in determining the type of FPD we are going to use in the patient.

Class I: It is a ridge with a loss of faciolingual width, with normal apicocoronal height. It constitutes 32.4% of the edentulous ridges.

Class II: It is the ridge with a loss of ridge height with normal ridge width.

Class III: It is the ridge with a loss of both height and width.

Class IV: It indicates Normal Ridges.

Out of the four types of Edentulous Ridges, Class IV is the ideal type of Implants and even a Fixed partial denture as the height width and the amount of clearance are all optimal without any need for change in the design of pontic. The most common type of ridge is the Class I type which constitutes to about 32.4% of the edentulous ridges.

The most difficult to manage is the Class III type Edentulous ridge which has loss of both height and width of alveolar bone, it is most commonly seen in patients with Chronic Periodontal conditions which has lead to the loss of teeth in said region. The best example for the Class III type is seen in Aggressive Periodontits Condition.