• Abutment = tooth, which a bridge or partial denture is attached to
• Framework = structure connected to abutments in order to carry pontic
• Retainer = part of the bridge framework that fits the restoration (crown, inlay) of abutment and is connected with this restoration
• Pontic = artificial tooth as a part of a bridge
• Connector = part of the bridge framework attaching pontic to retainer. Connectors can be rigid or non-rigid (male-female-locking arrangements)
• Span = space between natural teeth that is to be filled by the bridge
• Saddle = area of the edentulous ridge over which the pontic will lie
• Pier = abutment tooth supporting two pontics, each pontic being attached to a further abutment tooth
• Unit = when applied to bridgework, unit can mean either retainer or a pontic. A bridge with two retainers and one pontic would therefore be a three-unit bridge
• Member = when applied to bridgework, member is a replaced tooth. A bridge replacing two teeth would therefore be a two-member bridge
• Substructure = bundle of reinforcement fibers
• Suprastructure = structure creating anatomical shape and contour of pontic over the bridge framework
• Slot/Box = rectangle hollow of the cubic shape in the distal or mesial side of the teeth, no shoulders
• Groove = long shallow semicircular channel which lies on the oral side on the tooth; used mostly for incisors
• Inlay = restoration, which lies inside the cusp tips of a tooth (MO: mesio-occlusal, MOD: mesio-occlusal distal) – intracoronal restoration
• Onlay = more extensive restoration that covers one or more cusps of a tooth, classified as smallest extracoronal restoration
• Complete crown = restoration covering the entire anatomy of a tooth clinical crown
• Partial crown = restoration covering more than half but not all the tooth clinical crown. A partial crown is named according to the fractional amount of the clinical crown it covers (three-quarters, four-fifth, seven-eights)

Primary Roles of Bridge Framework Are:

• To carry the pontic
• To shift the load applied to pontic during mastication to abutment teeth.

The major portion of masticatory forces shifted by bridgework from pontic to abutment teeth acts vertically. Therefore the bridgework is subject to deflection. It creates compression in upper part of the structure and tension in lower part of the structure. This type of stress requires substructure (Dentapreg™ PFU, PFM and UFM strip) in the bottom part of the bridge framework. There are also peeks of shear stress in the interproximal area between abutment teeth and pontic. In order to minimize these peeks it is recommended to form a small curvature with Dentapreg™ strip.