A review of esthetic pontic design options.

Advances in the field of restorative materials allow a lost tooth to be replaced by artificial tooth structure that is virtually indiscernible from the original. However, in fixed partial dentures the standards for the pontic area and the adjacent soft tissue in the maxillary anterior region have increased in particular. The pontic design in this region is primarily influenced by esthetic and phonetic considerations. Local defects of the alveolar ridge often complicate restorative measures. Treatment methods proposed to solve this problem involve modification of the pontic design and pretreatment of the recipient site for the pontic. This article reviews the different clinical and technical options that are available for designing esthetic and functional pontics for the anterior region.