The pier abutment: a review of the literature and a suggested mathematical model.

Many clinicians consider the prosthetic restoration of missing posterior teeth by means of a 5-unit fixed partial denture with a pier abutment a non-favorable situation. The present article assesses the validity of the pier abutment by means of a critical review of the literature and mathematical analysis of the forces generated within a fixed partial denture of this design. Few studies are available, and none substantiate the theory that the pier abutment serves as a fulcrum. A mathematical model suggests that debonding may occur in the anterior abutment, but not due to the teetering of the fixed partial denture around the pier abutment.