Which pontic design is NEVER USED?

Which pontic design is NEVER USED?

• A. Saddle/ridge lap (anterior only) NEVER USE!
• B. Hygienic pontic
• C. Ovate pontic
• D. Conventional pontic

Answer: (A)

Pontic designs balance esthetics with how easy they are to keep clean. The ridge-lap (saddle) pontic sits on the ridge and extends onto the mucosa, covering the tissue. This makes cleaning under the pontic very difficult and traps plaque, which can irritate the soft tissues and lead to inflammation or problems with the abutment teeth. Because of these hygiene and tissue issues, this design is not used in modern practice, especially in the anterior region. Hygienic pontics keep the base away from the mucosa for easy cleaning; ovate pontics create a natural-looking emergence profile with tissue contact that can look very lifelike but requires surgical ridge modification; conventional pontics (modified ridge-lap) offer some tissue contact but are easier to clean than the ridge-lap design.

Pontic designs balance esthetics with how easy they are to keep clean. The ridge-lap (saddle) pontic sits on the ridge and extends onto the mucosa, covering the tissue. This makes cleaning under the pontic very difficult and traps plaque, which can irritate the soft tissues and lead to inflammation or problems with the abutment teeth. Because of these hygiene and tissue issues, this design is not used in modern practice, especially in the anterior region. Hygienic pontics keep the base away from the mucosa for easy cleaning; ovate pontics create a natural-looking emergence profile with tissue contact that can look very lifelike but requires surgical ridge modification; conventional pontics (modified ridge-lap) offer some tissue contact but are easier to clean than the ridge-lap design.