Clinical Performance of Implant Overdenture Versus Fixed Detachable Prosthesis

Abstract

To evaluate the satisfaction of completely edentulous patients with a different number of implants to retain removable and support the fixed prosthesis. Fifty patients with the single edentulous ridge (maxilla or mandible) were selected for this study and divided equally into five groups. Each group contained 10 patients. Group 1: conventional complete denture (negative control group), group 2: two implants retained overdenture, group 3: three implants retained overdenture, group 4: four implants retained overdenture, group 5: fixed detachable prosthesis with five implants placed between the mental foramen. After one year from completing the treatment, the patients were requested to fill a specially designed questionnaire to assess their overall quality of life and level of satisfaction, both estheti-cally and functionally. Comparison of data between groups was performed using the Chi-square tests. The level of statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05. Patients treated with conventional complete denture were all unsatisfied in their masticatory function, and 80% were also unsatisfied in phonetics, while only 50% of patients were satisfied aesthetically and mentally and 70% were satisfied in social life. The addition of two or more dental implants resulted in 100% satisfaction in the variables tested. There was no statistical difference between the number of implants and supra-structure design regarding patients' satisfaction. Furthermore, implants retained overdenture and fixed detachable prosthesis design scored the same satisfactory level. The satisfaction level of the conventional complete denture in the treatment of an edentulous arch can be dramatically improved by adding dental implants and changing the design to an overdenture. Two implants with an overdenture design is a valid treatment option for the edentulous arch as well as three and four implants. Fixed detachable prosthesis did not add any further patient satisfaction when compared to implant retained overdenture. Two implants with overdenture to treat edentulous jaw is effective as five implant fixed prosthesis.