Luting of Resin Bonded Fixed Dental Prosthesis – State of the Art

Abstract Body: Single missing teeth either in the anterior or posterior region could be restored with a number of therapy possibilities. While full coverage fixed dental prosthesis (FDP) requires tooth preparations, the use of implants may yield to biological or aesthetic complications over time. In that respect, resin-bonded FDPs (RBFDP) made of metal-ceramic, reinforced polymers and all-ceramics are minimal invasive and economical alternatives to conventional FDPs and implant-borne reconstructions. However, clinical durability of RBFDPs is highly dictated by the adhesion protocols and the resin cement type used for luting. Inadequate choice and application of resin cements result in debonding and caries formation under RBFDPs. All ceramic adhesive FDPs and in particular polycrystalline ceramics such as zirconia requires special conditioning and cementation protocol. Over the last few decades, in vitro and clinical studies showed more favourable results with 10-MDP based resin cements as opposed to other resin cements used for zirconia. Recent developments in adhesive promoters and resin cements are also claimed to replace conventional conditioning protocols. This lecture will highlight technical and clinical concepts for luting RBFDPs, introduce the state of the art in luting procedures in conjunction with different materials supported with in vitro and clinical evidence.