The influence of interproximal contact on implant-supported fixed partial dentures in the posterior jaw: a photoelastic analysis.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the separation of prosthetic crowns from fixed partial dentures by means of stress gradient evaluation. Three photoelastic models were created to examine contiguous implants with varying contact between the crowns (contact point [CP], contact surface [CS], splinted [SP]). The SP group presented the best results, followed by the CS group, indicating that the use of splinted prosthetic crowns and crowns with broad surface contacts is viable when considering the stress values.