Technical Complications and Prosthesis Survival Rates with Implant‐Supported Fixed Complete Dental Prostheses: A Retrospective Study with 1‐ to 12‐Year Follow‐Up

Abstract

Purpose:To report the rate of technical complications and prosthesis survival in a cohort of edentulous patients treated with implant-supported fixed complete dental prostheses (IFCDPs) after a mean observation period of at least 1 year. Materials and Methods: The single-visit examination included clinical and radiographic assessment, occlusal analysis, photographs and questionnaire assessing patient satisfaction in a cohort of 52 patients rehabilitated with 71 IFCDPs (supported by 457 implants). The IFCDPs were assessed for technical complications, number of implants and cantilever extension, retention type and prosthetic material type. Comparison was made between ceramic IFCDPs (Group 1) and metal-resin IFCDPs (Group 2). Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis was carried out for assessment of prosthesis survival and was done for both Groups 1 and 2 separately. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for survival analysis, adjusting for a number of potential confounders, to evaluate the association between prosthesis survival and several risk factors such as type of opposing occlusion, nightguard use, and presence of bruxism. Responses to patient satisfaction questions were compared with Fisher's exact test. Results: Out of 71 edentulous arches (52 patients) restored with IFCDPs, 6 IFCDPs had failed, yielding a cumulative prosthesis survival rate of 91.6 % after a mean observation period of 5.2 years (range: 1-12 years) after definitive prosthesis insertion. Three IFCDPs were lost due to implant failures after 5.8 to 11 years of functional loading. Additionally, 3 metal-resin IFCDPs failed due to technical complications. Minor complications were the most frequent complications observed, namely wear of the prosthetic material (9.8% annual rate) being the most common, followed by decementation of cement-retained IFCDPs (2.9%), and loss of the screw access filing material of the screw-retained IFCDPs (2.7%). The most frequently observed major complication was fracture of the prosthetic material (1.9% annual rate), followed by fracture of occlusal screw (0.3%), and fracture of framework (0.3%). The annual rate of wear of prosthetic material was 7.3% for porcelain IFCDPs (n = 19/55) and 19.4% for metal-resin IFCDPs (n = 13/16), yielding a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (p = 0.01). Conclusions: After a mean exposure time of 5.2 years, 91.6% prosthesis survival rates were achieved (65 out of 71 IFCDPs). The most frequent minor technical complication was wear of the prosthetic material with estimated 5-year rate of 49.0%, while the most frequent major complication was fracture of the prosthetic material with estimated 5-year dental unit-based rate of 9.5%. The cumulative rates for "prosthesis free of minor complications" at 5-and 10-years were 60.5% (95% CI: 47.2-71.3%) and 8.9% (95% CI: 2.9-18.0%), respectively. The cumulative rates for "prosthesis free of major technical complications" at 5-and 10-years were 85.5% (95% CI: 73.0-92.5%) and

Long‐term outcomes of osteotome sinus floor elevation without grafting in severely atrophic maxilla: A 10‐year prospective study

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Accuracy of Guided Implant Surgery in 25 Edentulous Arches: A Laboratory Observational Study

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Comparison of peri-implant submucosal microbiota in arches with zirconia or titanium implant-supported fixed complete dental prostheses: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…Previous studies have revealed that technical complications occasionally occur, although at low incidences [41,42]. The incidences of wear and fracture are 19.4% and 0.7%, respectively, for titanium frameworks and 7.3% and 5.9% for zirconia [43]. In consideration of possible changes in roughness due to chipping, further analysis, including the incidence of chipping, is needed.…”