Longevity of resin-bonded fixed partial dentures made of metal alloys: A review of the literature.

Abstract

Purpose In this review, we evaluate the survival rate of resin-bonded fixed partial dentures (RBFPDs) made of metal alloys.Methods An electronic search of English peer-reviewed dental literature on PubMed was conducted to identify all publications reporting on RBFPDs made of metal alloys until March 2019. The searched keywords were: bridge OR fixed partial denture OR fixed prosthesis OR fixed prostheses AND resin bonded AND metal OR alloy AND survival OR longevity (RBFPD was not included). Furthermore, the "Related Articles" feature of PubMed was used to identify further references of interest during the primary search. A definitive list of articles was screened to extract qualitative data after the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the results were analyzed.Results Overall, 977 publications were found through an electronic and manual search, out of which 130 articles were selected after screening based on title and abstract. A total of 52 publications passed the second review phase after assessment for eligibility, from which 24 studies were excluded after full-text screening. Finally, a total of 28 studies were selected.Conclusions The survival rate of RBFPDs differed greatly depending on the type of metal alloy, adhesion system, and observation period assessed, e.g. the 10-year survival rate ranged from 18% to 88%. The wide range of survival rates of the RBFPDs reported indicates that though RBFPD is a reliable prosthesis, it is prone to failure if some processes are not completed.