Photoelastic models were used to visualize stresses developed in teeth and supporting bone by cantilever fixed partial dentures where the most distal abutments had either crater or trough osseous defects. The effects of splinting the periodontally involved teeth to one or more additional sound teeth were studied. It was shown that for a cantilever fixed partial denture with either normal periodontal support, or a distal abutment with a moderate degree of mobility and bone loss, the following can be concluded: (1) occlusal forces on a cantilever fixed partial denture were significantly distributed to only the three teeth closest to the loaded cantilever, (2) optimum stress reduction occurred with the splinting of a periodontally compromised tooth to two periodontally sound teeth. Increasing the number of splinted abutments did not result in a proportional reduction of stress in the periodontium, and (3) no significant cross-arch sharing of occlusal loads was seen.