Loss of marginal cement seal, initial fracture, and stiffness of three four-unit provisional restorations were Loss of marginal cement seal was monitored using strain gauges located occlusogingivally at the distal of the second molar abutment and the mesial of the first premolar abutment of a four-unit posterior fixed provisional restoration with two pontics. The provisional restorations were then placed in an Instron testing machine and loaded to initial fracture. Stiffness was calculated from the Instron recordings. The provisional designs were permachrome band-reinforced, wire-reinforced, and a nonreinforced control. Analysis showed: (1) the band-reinforced design withstood a significantly greater load before loss of cement seal (P.05); (2) the band-reinforced design had a significantly higher stiffness (P.05); and (3) there was no difference between the three designs for load at initial fracture. Within the same sample it was found that for both bank-and wire- reinforced designs the premolar abutment lost the marginal cement seal at a significantly lower load than the molar (P.05). For the control there was no significant difference for load at marginal cement seal loss between abutments.