lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.

‫د‬

Pontic
Is part of the fixed dental prosthesis which replace the missing tooth (teeth) and
connected to the retainers by a rigid (sold joint) connector or non-rigid connector
(key and key way), it restore function and appearance of the missing teeth.

Materials used in pontic fabrication:

The pontic may be made entirely of cast metal, porcelain or zirconium. A

combination of metal and porcelain or acrylic facing can be used also. Usually
full metal pontic is used for posterior region while a combination of metal and
facing is used in anterior region, but now a day's zirconium is used for posterior
and anterior region for its esthetic and strong properties that can withstand the
force of occlusion.

Requirement of good pontic design

-Biological consideration

-Mechanical consideration

-Esthetic consideration

A. Biological consideration

 Pontic- ridge contact: A pressure free contact (passive contact) is required

to prevent ulceration and inflammation of the soft tissue. Contact between the
pontic and the ridge should be small and the portion of the pontic close to the
ridge should be as convex as possible to prevent entrapment of food under the
pontic.

 Provide good access for cleaning: The area of the embrasures (mesial,
distal and lingual) to the pontic must be wide open to allow an easy access for
cleaning.
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 lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.‫د‬

B) Mechanical consideration

 The pontic must be strong enough to withstand occlusal forces and resist
deformation with strong connector to prevent fracture.

 Mechanical problems may be due to improper choice of materials, poor

frame work design, weak connectors, poor occlusion and poor tooth preparation.
These could lead to fracture of the prosthesis or displacement of the retainers.
Good metal ceramic interface to resist porcelain fracture.

e.g.: strong all metal pontic may be needed in area of high stress than a metal-
ceramic pontic which is more susceptible to fracture.

C) Esthetic consideration

Pontic appearance looks like tooth it replaces. In excessive bone loss it is

possible to obtain a pontic with natural (normal) length by adding pink porcelain
to the apical portion of pontic to simulate the gingival tissue.

Pontic Design Classification

No Mucosal Contact

-Sanitary (hygienic)

-Modified sanitary (hygienic)

Mucosal Contact

-Ridge-lap

-Modified ridge-lap

-Ovate

-Conical
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 lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.‫د‬

Sanitary or Hygienic Pontic

As its name implies, the primary design feature of the sanitary pontic allows
easy cleaning because its tissue surface doesn't have any contact with underlying
tissue (3mm space, 3mm thickness). This hygienic design enables easier plaque
control by allowing gauze strips and other cleaning devices to be passed under
the pontic. Disadvantages include entrapment of food particles, which may lead
to tongue habits that annoy the patient. The hygienic pontic is the least tooth like
design and is therefore apply for teeth seldom displayed during function (i.e.,
the mandibular molars).

A modified version of the sanitary pontic has been developed. Its gingival
portion is shaped like an archway between the retainers. This geometry allows
for increased connector size and a decrease in the stress concentrated in the
pontic and connectors. It is also less susceptible to tissue proliferation that can
occur when a pontic is too close to the residual ridge.

Sanitary pontic
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 lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.‫د‬

Modified Sanitary pontic

Saddle and Ridge-Lap Pontics

The saddle pontic has a concave fitting surface that overlaps the residual ridge
buccolingually, simulating the contours and emergence profile of the missing
tooth on both sides of the residual ridge. However, saddle designs should be
avoided because the concave gingival surface of the pontic is not accessible to
cleaning with dental floss, which leads to plaque accumulation. This design
deficiency has been shown to result in tissue inflammation.

While ridge lap pontic look like a saddle on buccal and convex on lingual, more
cleansable than saddle designs and potential for tissue irritation minimized. It
give the illusion of being a tooth and combines best features of saddle &
hygienic pontics, used when the tooth lie in the appearance zone (maxillary &
mandibular).

Modified Ridge-Lap Pontic

The modified ridge-lap pontic combines the best features of the hygienic and
saddle pontic designs, combining esthetics with easy cleaning. The modified
ridge-lap pontic overlaps the residual ridge on the facial side (to achieve the
appearance of a tooth emerging from the gingiva) but remains clear of the ridge
on the lingual side. To enable optimal plaque control, the gingival surface must
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 lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.‫د‬

have no depression or hollow; rather, it should be as convex as possible from

mesial to distal aspects (the greater the convexity, the easier the oral hygiene).
Tissue contact should resemble a letter T whose vertical arm ends at the crest of
the ridge. Facial ridge adaptation is essential for a natural appearance. Although
this design was historically referred to as ridge-lap design, the term ridge-lap is
now used synonymously with saddle design. The modified ridge-lap design is
the most common pontic form used in areas of the mouth that are visible during
function (maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth and maxillary premolars and
first molars).

Conical Pontic

Often called egg-shaped, bullet-shaped, or heart-shaped, the conical pontic is

easy for the patient to keep clean. It should be made as convex as possible and
should have only one point of contact: at the center of the residual ridge. This
design is recommended for the replacement of mandibular posterior teeth, for
which esthetic appearance is a lesser concern. The facial and lingual contours
are dependent on the width of the residual ridge; a knife-edged residual ridge
necessitates flatter contours with a narrow tissue contact area. This type of
design may be unsuitable for broad residual ridges because the emergence
profile associated with the small tissue contact point may create areas of food
entrapment. The sanitary or hygienic pontic is the design of choice in these
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clinical situations.
 lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.‫د‬

Ovate Pontic

The ovate pontic is the pontic design that is most esthetically appealing. Its
convex tissue surface resides in a soft tissue depression or hollow in the residual
ridge, which makes it appear that a tooth is emerging from the gingiva. Careful
treatment planning is necessary for successful results. Socket-preservation
techniques should be performed at the time of extraction to create the tissue
depression from which the ovate pontic form will appear to emerge. For a
preexisting residual ridge, surgical augmentation of the soft tissue is typically
required. When an adequate volume of ridge tissue is established, a socket
depression is sculpted into the ridge with surgical diamonds, electro-surgery, or
a dental laser. With every option, meticulous attention to the contour of the
pontic of the interim restoration is essential when the residual ridge that will
receive the definitive prosthesis is conditioned and shaped. The advantages of
an ovate pontic include its pleasing appearance and its strength. The broad
convex geometry is stronger than that of the modified ridge-lap pontic because
the porcelain at the gingiva-facial extent of a pontic is supported. Because the
tissue surface of the pontic is convex in all dimensions, it is accessible to dental
floss; however, meticulous oral hygiene is necessary to prevent tissue
inflammation resulting from the large area of tissue contact. Other
disadvantages include the need for surgical tissue management and the
associated cost. Furthermore, an additional evaluation appointment is typically
necessary to achieve an esthetic result.
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 lecture 5 ‫زهراء مازن الهواز‬.‫د‬

Modified Ovate Pontic

The modification of the ovate pontic involves moving the height of contour at
the tissue surface from the center of the base to a more labial position, 1-1.5 mm
apical & palatal to gingival margin. The modified ovate pontic does not require
as much facio-lingual thickness. This alteration allows the use of the pontic in
clinical scenarios in which horizontal ridge width is not sufficient for a
conventional ovate pontic. It have excellent esthetic and fulfill the functional
requirements, it provide greater ease of cleaning compared with ovate pontic
owing to the less convex design. Its major advantage over the ovate type is that
often there is little or no need for surgical augmentation of the ridge.

a. Ovate pontic. b. modified ovate pontic.

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‫‪lecture 5‬‬ ‫د‪.‬زهراء مازن الهواز‬

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