Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Diastema or spaces between natural teeth are actually a method of nature's compensation to overcome the discrepancy between the two hard tissues – bone and natural teeth. In prosthodontic dentistry, while fabricating a fixed prosthesis, it has been recommended that the spaces between the natural teeth should be duplicated in the prosthesis to avoid esthetic failures. We present a case of a young male patient who presented with a kennedy class 3 partially edentulous situation of the maxillary arch with a missing maxillary left central incisor missing. The main feature of the prosthetic rehabilitation included restoring the partial edentulous space between the two abutments that was excessive and warranted the use of a loop connector to connect the pontic and the retainer. A thick wax sprue former was used to fabricate the loop connector which was placed towards the palatal side of the crowns rather than the proximal surfaces. A three unit porcelain fused to metal bridge using loop connector allowed incorporation of diastema between the components of the fixed partial denture. The patient was highly satisfied with the outcome of the prosthesis. Key words: fixed partial denture, connector, retainer, metal ceramic.