Metallic frames of removable partial denture: A planning proposal

Objective: Removable partial denture (RPD) is an important oral rehabilitation resource with an acceptable result even over a very long observation period. However, it is still difficult for many clinicians to make an appropriate RPD. One of the main causes of RPD failure is the missing or incorrect planning of the metal frame. Perhaps, this lack of planning occurs because of the difficulty that clinicians have to choose the components for the metallic frame among the enormous number of possibilities that exist. Thus, the present article aims to propose a simple sequence for the planning of metallic frames of the RPD following five steps: I) Classification of partially edentulous arches; II) Choice of the retainer (direct and indirect, when needed); III) Saddle drawing; IV) Choice of the major connector; and, V) Minor connector drawing.