Clinical performance of implant crown retained removable partial dentures for mandibular edentulism—a retrospective study

Abstract

The studies on implant-crown-retained removable partial dentures (IC-RPDs) for edentulism are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate survival rates and marginal bone loss (MBL) of IC-RPDs compared to implant overdentures (IODs) in mandibular edentulism. Variables that influenced survival and marginal bone loss (MBL) of implants in both treatment modalities were analyzed and the functional/esthetic satisfaction of patients as well as prosthetic complications were also observed. Eighteen IC-RPDs with a total of 60 implant-supported survey crowns and 24 IODs with a total 94 implants retained with magnet attachments were observed. After a median observation period of 46.6 months (up to 149 months), we observed 98.3% implant survival rates for IC-RPDs and 92.5% for IODs. Kaplan–Meier survival curves based on the treatment modality showed that, at 96 months, cumulative survival rates were 98.3% in IC-RPD and 83.1% in IOD. For implant survival rates, no statistical differences were observed according to age, sex, opposing dentition, or implant positions (p = 0.515, 0.666, 0.201, 0.749, respectively). The implant MBL measurements for IC-RPD and IOD groups at the final recall check were 0.93 ± 1.22 mm and 2.12 ± 2.09 mm, respectively. Additionally, there were no significant differences between groups (p = 0.554). The implants with peri-implantitis at year 1 showed significantly higher MBL at final check-up (p < 0.001). The MBL of implants showed significant differences based on age (p = 0.008) and opposing dentition (p = 0.003). No significant differences of implant MBL were observed for the position of placed implants (p = 0.621) or sex (p = 0.666). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) on functional and esthetic satisfaction were significantly improved after IC-RPD or IOD treatment (p < 0.001). The most frequent prosthetic complication of IC-RPD was clasp loosening, while for IOD group, it was attachment dislodgement. Within the limitations of this retrospective study, we concluded that IC-RPDs could be considered as a viable treatment option for edentulous patients who need few fixed abutments for satisfaction.