FPD Full Form: Fixed Partial Denture (Dental Bridge)

A fixed partial denture is a bridge. Fixed means it is cemented and does not come out; partial means it replaces only some teeth, not a full arch; denture is the old clinical word for an artificial replacement. The tooth being replaced is called the pontic, and the teeth that carry it are called abutments.

The most common form is a conventional bridge. The abutment teeth are trimmed and capped with crowns, and the pontic joins them as a single piece. Materials include metal, porcelain fused to metal (see PFM full form) and zirconia.

Its counterpart is the removable partial denture, covered in RPD full form, which the patient takes out to clean. An FPD feels more like natural teeth but needs healthy neighbouring teeth to be reshaped.

A dental implant replaces a missing tooth without trimming neighbours. Our guide on dental implant vs bridge compares the two. Crown terms are explained in types of dental crowns.

Brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and clean under the pontic daily using a floss threader, interdental brush or water flosser, because food and plaque collect there. Decay at the abutment crowns is the commonest reason a bridge fails.

For the full picture of bridge treatment, see crowns and bridges. A crown on a root-treated tooth is covered under root canal treatment. For the cost range see dental bridge cost.