Kennedy classification
Kennedy Class I Kennedy Class I describes a patient who has BILATERAL free-end saddles, i.e. they have edentulous posterior areas bilaterally. This is the most common classification. There are no further posterior teeth to the edentulous area. A free-end saddle is where the saddle is not resting on teeth on both sides (i.e. is lacking an abutment tooth). Kennedy Class II This describes a patient who has a UNILATERAL free-end saddle, i.e. they have a one-sided, posterior edentulous area. They have no further teeth behind the edentulous area. As the image below shows, it is like a Class I but just covering one side of the arch. Kennedy Class III This describes a patient who has a UNILATERAL BOUNDED POSTERIOR saddle. This means that the edentulous area has teeth located both anteriorly and posteriorly to it, as shown in the image below. As they do not possess free-end saddles, they tend to be far more secure cases when being worn. Kennedy Class IV This describes a patient with a SINGLE, ANTERIOR BOUNDED saddle. This is the rarest of the classifications.