 Hi y'all, so today we are going to discuss in detail about minor connectors. Moving to the contents, it includes introduction, definition, functions of minor connector, basic principles of design of a minor connector, different types of minor connectors, tissue stops and finish lines, summary and conclusion. Moving to the introduction, minor connectors can be defined as the connecting link between the major connector or base of a removed partial denger to other units of a process such as class presumably, indirect retainers, occlusal or singular breast etc. So this is the definition according to GPT-9. So it is basically a connecting link between the major connector to all other components of the RPD. So this is the major connector and this is the minor connector which connects the major connector to the other components of the RPD. Moving to the functions of a minor connector, the primary function of a minor connector is to join the remaining components of RPD to the major connector and is also used for the distribution of applied forces to the supporting tissue and oral tissues, supporting teeth and oral tissues. So and also to transfer the functional stress to the abutment tooth that is the processes abutment function as well as to transfer the effect of retainers, rest and stabilizing components to the rest of the denger that is the abutment to processes function. So moving to the principles of design of a minor connector. So there are basically four main principles. First one it should have sufficient bulk to be rigid. Second one it should be thicker towards the lingual surface tapering towards the contact area. And third one it should form a right angle with the major connector so that the gingival crossing is abrupt and cover as little gingival tissue as possible. Fourth one sharp angle should be avoided and spaces should not exist for trapping of foot debris that is the sharp angle should be avoided and there should not be any space between the major connector or any other components of the RPD as it may cause trapping of foot debris. Moving to the different types of minor connectors. So there are basically four types of minor connectors. First one to join the class possibly to the major connector. Second one to join the indirect retainers and auxiliary rest to the major connector. Third one to join the denger base to the major connector and fourth one the minor connector which serve as an approach for a vertical projection or a part type of class. So these are the four types. Once again that is the first type of minor connector is to join the class possibly to the major connector. So here this is the minor connector which joins the class possibly to the major connector. And second one to join the indirect retainers and auxiliary rest to the major connector in this this is the direct retainer and this is the indirect retainer. The minor connector helps to join the indirect retainer to the major to join the denser base to the major connector so here so here this is the minor connector and it helps to join the denser base to the major connector and the fourth one this is the approach arm which serves as an approach arm for the vertical projection or bar type of clasp so in this this is the minor connector so there are four types first one is for to join the clasp assembly second one is to join the indirect retainers to the major connector third one to join the denser base to the major connector and fourth one which serves as an approach arm for the vertical projection or bar type of clasp so moving to the first step there is the minor connectors joining the clasp assembly to the major connector so this is the minor connector which is joining the clasp assembly to the major connector so minor connectors that join the clasp assembly to the major connector must be rigid because they support the active components of the RPD the active components of the RPD are nothing but the retentive clasp and also support the rest and it prevents the movement of the processes towards the underlying tissues in addition the connector should be tapered to the tooth below the origin of the clasp arm if no clasp arm is formed when a bar clasp originates elsewhere the connector should be tapered to a knife edge to the full length of the buckle surface most minor connectors that support the clasp assemblies are located on the proximal surface of the tooth adjacent to the edgeless areas and in many instances the clasp assembly must be positioned on a tooth that is not adjacent to an edgeless space and in cases where the clasp assemblies are located on the proximal surface of the tooth adjacent to the edgeless areas the minor connectors should be broad buck or linkily but thin easier distally and also the minor connector should be positioned in the associated lingual embellisher when an artificial tooth is to be placed the thickest portion should be at the lingual line angle of the abutment tooth and this way the bulk is ensured with the least interference to the placement of the artificial tooth if the clasp assembly is not being placed on a tooth adjacent to the edgeless space the minor connector must be positioned in the embrasure between the tooth teeth and moving to the extension of the minor connector the minor connector in the maxillary arch it should in case of distal extension cases it should cover the entire ridge that is it should cover the entire ridgeless ridge including the maxillary tuberosity whereas in case of mandibular arch when in distal extension cases only the two-third of the length of the edgeless arch is covered by the minor connector so this is about the extension of the minor connector that is in case of maxillary arch the entire ridge including the maxillary tuberosity should be covered whereas in case of mandibular arch though it is covering the entire retro mola pad only the two-third of the length of the entire edgeless arch is covered moving to the next type is the minor connectors that join the indirect retainers or auxiliary rest to the maxillary or to the major connector so in this type so this is the second type in here this is the indirect retainer which is connecting to the major connector by a minor connector and there are two important features in this type the first one that it should form a right angle with the major connector so the indirect retainer should form a right angle to the major connector and second point is that it should lie in embrasure between the teeth it discuses bulk as much as possible so these are the two important features next is the third type that is a minor connector that join the denser base to the major connector based on this type it has three main features the first one is the rigidity and second one it should it should be rigid enough to resist the fracture and third one it should support the underlying tissues and based on that it has three types the lattice for construction mesh construction bead or nail head minor connector first one is the open lattice construction open lattice construction basically it consists of two types of struts the first one is the longitudinal struts and second one is the transverse strut just crossing the ridge is basically the transverse struts and which fire which passes parallel to the ridge is the longitudinal strut so it has basically two longitudinal strut and more number of transfer struts so the arrangement of both the longitudinal and transverse strut gives a ladder like a network and also the the proposition of the longitudinal and transverse strut is a crucial factor for the open lattice work construction and in case of mandibular arch in case of mandibular arch the longitudinal strut should pass either buckle to the crust of the ridge or lingual to the crust of the ridge and whereas the transverse strut should pass across the ridge and the position of the neck of the artificial tooth should lie on the transverse strut so these are the more important points of the lattice work construction and in addition to that the leaf can be provided in case of open lattice work construction so moving to the advantages it provides the strongest attachment of the acrylic resin tensor base to the removal partial danger and it is the easiest to realign if necessary because of the reduced resorption so this is the second point so it is the most strongest attachment of the acrylic resin tensor base with that of the removal partial danger when compared to the other two types of construction this is the best construction and another advantage is it facilitates the realigning and revising process the next type is the mesh construction a mesh miner connector may be kind of compared to a rigid metallic screen and the mesh construction can be named because of its arrangement so it has small channels or holes through which the acrylic resin can flow or penetrate so this channels are passed through the connector are intended to permit the acrylic resin to penetrate and this allows the resin to encircle the resin encirclement of the miner connector and the mechanical retention of the danger base can be achieved by this type so this are the main type this is the main advantage of the mesh construction because of the small holes the acrylic resins are allowed to pass through it and so the resin encirclement and as well as the mechanical retention of the danger base can be provided and the main drawback of the mesh construction is that it is difficult to pack the acrylic resin at the low stage because more pressure is needed against the resin to force it through the small holes and it may also result in inadequate resin penetration that is due to the insufficient packing pressure it may result in inadequate resin penetration and weak attachment to the framework mesh construction may also interfere with the arrangement of the prosthetic teeth and it does not provide as strong as attachment for the acrylic resin danger base as compared to the lattice framework and mesh construction may be used whenever the multiple teeth are to be replaced so both in case of open lattice work construction as well as mesh construction whenever there are multiple teeth to be replaced both the types can be used and in addition relief is provided beneath the miner connectors for both open construction as well as mesh construction and this relief provides a space between the miner connector and the underlying master cast or residual range so this space permits the acrylic resin to encircle the miner connector and provides a mechanism for attachment of the danger base to the framework so these are the main advantages and disadvantages of mesh construction advantages is that more resident encirclement and mechanical retention is provided as well as it has small holes so through which the acrylic resin can flow and disadvantages include it is difficult to pack because to pack the acrylic resin at double stage is more difficult and more pressure should be needed and it's not a strong attachment to the danger base and it can be used in case of multiple tooth to be replaced so moving to the third type this is the bead wire or nail head retention miner connector it is named so because of its appearance so it has either the beads different types of beads on the miner connector or it has a nail head appearance so based on it this name so and it is used with the metals at danger base which is cast to fit directly against the stainless ridge so they are most commonly used and these projections may be created by placing resin beads on the appropriate segment of the wax pattern and investing it and later casting it and the primary advantage of a metal base is related to improved hygiene so when compared to open can open latticework construction and mesh construction this is the most hygienic type of miner connector and it has enhanced thermal stimulation disadvantages it is difficult difficulty in adjusting and relighting the cast metal bases so the it is very difficult to realign this bead wire or nail head type construction and also the attachment of resin is relatively weak so in case of both mesh construction and bead wire or nail head construction the attachment is weak only in case of open latticework construction the attachment is good or strongest and the bead wire construction is limited to short span RPDs and only in two supported applications or the patients with well-heeled ridges the bead wire or nail head my type of miner connector is used it is indicated when in rare space is limited and actually crescent by itself would not have sufficient strength to withstand the force of occlusion the retention of the acrylic resin is obtained by projection of metal on its surface and this projections may be in the form of beads wires or nail heads and this is the most hygienic type of miner connector and shortcomings difficulty to adjust the metal base cannot be adequately reliant in case of its resorption and it is the most weakest attachment of acrylic resin to the tensor base so next is the tissue stops so tissue stops or cast tops they are used on all distill extension partial dangers using latticework or mesh retention as we have already discussed in both open latticework construction and mesh construction the relief is provided and when the relief is provided and in case of distill extension cases the use of relief produces a miner connector that is support only at one inch so in distill extension cases the miner connector is only supported one and that it has only one abadment so abadment 2 so it is only supported one inch as a result the miner connector may bend when the load is applied since a considerable force is applied during a packing and loading and processing of the acrylic resin the probability of bending is increased so in order to prevent the bending of the miner in order to prevent the bending this cast tops are produced are used and cast tops are nothing but a small area at the free end of the miner connector that is here at the free end of the miner connector a small area of at the end of the miner connector should contact the master cast so this portion of the miner connector is termed is termed as cast top a cast top is created by removing a small square of a small square area of a relief wax where the posterior structure of the miner connector crosses the center of the ridge so the relief wax which is removed it's off 2 into 2 mm and this depression is incorporated into the refractory cast and during the waxing process this depression is filled with wax and later casting is done so this is the cast top or tissue stop and this cast top or tissue stop provide support and it prevents the bending of the framework it is so it is used so this is the advantage of the cast top and it is only used in case of this extension cases so finishing the tissue stop this is how the it should be so this is the cast top and this is the miner connector and so this prevents the bending of the framework so moving to the finish lines so in order to provide sufficient bulk of acrylic resin to produce a smooth and even joint with the metal framework finish lines are used and the provision must be made to produce space for a bad joint so that acrylic resin can be finished evenly with the major connector so for metal base miner connectors acrylic resin is processed only on the external surface therefore the resin metal joints should be created only at the external surfaces and in differences so there is a there is an interface between the acrylic phase and the metal phase and this forms the finish line and based on the type of finish lines there are two types one is the external finish line another is the internal finish line and external finish lines are nothing but if they are located on the outer surface of the major connectors if relief wax. As the relief wax is present, the internal finish lines are formed as a result of relief wax placed on the stainless ridge of a master cast prior to duplication. The relief wax create elevated area on the resulting refractory cast and this elevation is necessary to create space for the acrylic resin beneath the open and mesh connectors. So this is the relief wax and after duplication this relief wax will provide space for the acrylic resin to flow in both open lattice construction and mesh construction. So in both the cases internal finish line is formed and the margins of the relief wax establish internal finish line in the completed metal framework. So this margin forms the internal finish line and the margins of the relief wax should be sharp and well defined. So next is the external finish line. The external finish line must also be sharp and should be slightly undercut to help to lock the acrylic resin. So external finish line as we already told it is seen on the external surface of the major connector on the external surface of the major connector. So it should not be so smooth so that the acrylic resin has to be get locked to it and an external finish line is formed by the placement and carving of wax during framework fabrication and they originated the lingual extent of the receipt and continued down to the lingual aspect of the minor connector. So basically the external finish line it forms lingual extent of the receipt and continued to the lingual aspect of the minor connector. It should be well defined and the contour of the external finish line should be consistent with the contours of the major connector. So this is the minor connector for a bar type retainer. So here this is the finish line which forms and for a bar type retainer. And the last type of minor connector is that the minor connector that serves as an approach arm for the vertical projection or bar type of clasp in all other components or all the types they help. So minor connectors used to join those parts those components to the major connector whereas the fourth type the minor connector itself is acting as an approach arm for the vertical projection or bar type clasp. The approach arms of vertical projection or bar type clasp are the only minor connectors that are not required to be rigid. So the first feature among this is that it need not to be rigid. It has some degree of flexibility as it is an approach arm. And third one the minor connector of this type approaches the tooth from an apical direction. There are all other parts joined in an occlusal direction. In this case the minor connector is joining the abdomen tooth in an apical direction and rather than an occlusal direction. The approach arm should display a smooth even taper from its origin to its terminus. And also the approach arm should be smooth and it should be taper towards the terminus. So these are the main four features of the approach arm for vertical projection or bar type of clasp. With this we conclude the minor connector. So basically minor connector minor connector is the connecting link between the components of the RPD to that of the major connector. And the basic principles we studied should be rigid. It should support the underlying tissues and it should also support the processes. And the four types of minor connectors. First one to join the clasp was simply to the major connector. Second one to join the indirect retainers to the major connector. Third one to join the denser base to the major connector. And fourth one to serve as an approach arm. So in detail about all the types we have studied and we have mentioned about the open lattice work construction, the mesh construction and the bead wire or nail head construction and where all they are used in both. Open lattice construction and mesh construction are used for the distill extension cases and whereas the mesh construction is limited to short span RPDs. Sorry the bead or nail head construction is limited to the short span RPDs. Other than that we have learned about the approach arms where all it can be used. We have learned about the external and internal finish lines and about the cast tops. For the distill extension cases the cast tops are used and basically for the open lattice work construction and for the mesh construction they are used. So with this we'll conclude the minor