engleski

Subjective and Objective Assessment of Bridges made from Different Materials after a Period of 3 Years

The aim of this study was to find out patients' satisfaction with their bridges made of different materials (metal-ceramics, Au/resin, Ag-Pd/resin) after a three year period and to find out the influence of sociodemographic factors on their opinion and if there is any difference between the therapists and the patients assessment. 120 patients at the Dental School, University of Zagreb, assessed their bridges using a scale from 1-5. The same categories were also assessed by a trained prosthodontist. The most patients were really satisfied and evaluated their bridges as the best (quality, aesthetics, fonation, etc.) and therefore the score distributions were asymmetrical towards the biggest grades. There was no signifficant difference between sexes and age groups. The best gingival health was in the group of patients with ceramic crowns and bridges (p<0, 05) and the worst from the patients with Ag-Pd bridges. Patients with Ag-Pd bridges had the lowest level of education and were in the lowest economic class. Higher the level of education, lower the assessment of aesthetics ; lower the level of education, patients had bigger number of previous crowns and bridges ; females had lower number of previous crowns and bridges than males (p<0, 01). Fonation was scored higher for the lateral than for frontal bridges. Patients gave significantly higher scores than the prosthodontist for the health of the gingiva, overall quality and aesthetics of their bridges (p<0.01), while the prosthodontist gave better scores for the speech. The results point out to the difference between patients' and a therapist's opinion and to the patient's insufficient hygiene.

fixed partial dentures (bridges); assessment; different materials

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