A survey of treatment outcomes with removable partial dentures D. KNEZOVIC ´ ZLATARIC ´ , A. C ˇ ELEBIC ´ , M. VALENTIC ´ -PERUZOVIC ´ , V. JEROLIMOV & J. PANDURIC ´ Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia SUMMARY The patient’s satisfaction with removable partial denture (RPD) therapy has become an increasingly important factor in prosthetic treat- ment. This study examined patients’ satisfaction with RPDs in relation to some socio-economic variables, patients’ habits of wearing and cleaning RPDs, comfort of wearing RPDs and different RPDs characteristics. A questionnaire was devised for the purpose. Two hundred and five patients were required to assess satisfaction with RPDs. They graded RPDs, depending on the level of satisfaction, on scale ranging from 1 to 5. A dentist determined Kennedy classification, material and denture sup- port, denture base shape, number of missing teeth and evaluated denture construction. Majority of the patients were satisfied with the prosthesis. The patients of a higher education level gave lower grades (P <0®05) to aesthetics of maxillary RPDs. Almost half of the patients were wearing RPDs during the day. Most of the patients cleaned RPDs three times a day. A significant difference was found between the patients’ grades for comfort of wearing mandibular RPDs and number of missing teeth and between hygiene of mandibular RPDs and habits of cleaning them. Majority of the patients treated with RPDs were satisfied with the prosthesis. Dissatisfac- tion was related to mastication, esthetics, number of missing teeth and maintenance of oral hygiene. KEYWORDS: removable partial denture, patient’s sat- isfaction, Kennedy classification, denture construc- tion Introduction Great majority of patients are satisfied with their RPDs (Burns et al., 1995a). However, even if the RPDs are constructed according to all accepted criteria, some patients will still be dissatisfied (Burns et al., 1995a,b). Satisfaction with RPDs seems to have a multicausal character (Van Waas, 1984, 1990a,b; Watson et al., 1986; Van Waas et al., 1994). In addition to the patient’s satisfaction, the patient’s attitude towards a RPD prior to receiving one appears to play an important role. Those who thought negatively were more often dissatisfied (Vervoorn, Duinkerke & Luteijn, 1988, 1991). However, very important factors are the influence of the patient’s personality, the patient’s attitude towards a RPD and the patient’s motivation for wearing it (Merelie & Heyman, 1992). For some patients, the satisfaction with his or her RPDs relates primarily to the comfort and ability to masticate (Kay, 1993). The aesthetics and retention also seem to be important (Hakestam et al., 1997). According to Frank et al. (1998) and (2000), the dissatisfaction related to the RPDs was higher in those patients who have had no prior experience with them, in those patients who had been wearing opposing RPDs, in the patients younger than the age of 60, and in the patients in poor health. The most common reasons for the patient’s dissatis- faction with RPDs are the condition, the number and the alignment of the abutment teeth, the gingival, the periodontal and the mucous tissues health, the type of construction and the denture support, the material and the denture base shape (type of major connectors) (Zarb & MacKay, 1980a,b; Vigild, 1987; Weinstein, Schuchman & Lieberman, 1988; Cowan et al., 1991; Libby et al., 1997; Jokovic & Locker, 1997; Reifel, Rana ª 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 847 Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 2003 30; 847–854