Peri-implant mucosal response to implant-supported overdentures: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Immediate versus conventional loading of mandibular implant-retained overdentures: a 3-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

There is a scarcity of randomized clinical trials (RCT) that report medium- and long-term results and a lack of consensus in the literature on the predictability of immediately loaded unsplinted narrow diameter implants supporting mandibular overdentures. This RCT compared the performance of conventional (CL) and immediate loading (IL) of mandibular overdentures retained by two narrow-diameter implants for 3 years.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients from an RCT treated with CL or IL were invited to attend to 2- and 3-year follow-ups. Clinical, radiographic, functional, and oral health-related quality of life parameters were evaluated. Prosthetic maintenance events, biological complications, and success and survival rates were also recorded. The data were tested by multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analysis and chi-squared tests.

RESULTS

The 1-year survival rates of 90% in the CL group and 85% in the IL group were maintained as no implants were lost between 1 and 3 years. The marginal bone loss (MBL) in the IL group was significantly lower after year 3 (-0.04; p < 0.01). Significant changes were found only for the intra-group comparisons in the third year of function: (i) CL and IL presented similar progression of implant stability, MBL, and posterior bone area resorption; (ii) while CL started deteriorating of masticatory function, IL still exhibited functional evolution and (iii) oral comfort domain in the CL and pain domain in the IL were improved.

CONCLUSION

Although IL experienced the lowest MBL after 3 years, the outcomes showed that both loading protocols result in predictable medium-term rehabilitation when monitored annually.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

It can be expected that in the third year of function, patients with immediate loading may present more complaints related to general performance even with acceptable masticatory function and self-reported improvements in oral comfort.

Factors influencing retention and durability of attachments for overdentures - adverse effects of cleansings, pH, and temperature: A systematic review

Aim

The objective of this systematic review is to show the current state of the art on which type of attachment loses retention the most and has reduced durability and which factor causes these problems the most.

Material and methods

This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis (PRISMA) guidelines and it was registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF) (osf.io/2e3q5). The databases used for the electronic search of articles were Pubmed, Science Direct, Embase, and Scopus. Articles were selected by 2 independent reviewers according to the inclusion criteria. The risk of bias was analyzed by using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) adapted quasi-experimental study evaluation tool.

Results

The studies included in this review indicate that the use of cleansing solutions, high temperatures, and a more acidic pH decrease the durability of the attachments, mainly due to the loss of retention that occurs in different models and materials of the attachments, which requires their replacement in a shorter period.

Conclusion

Of all the factors studied, the cleansing solutions proved to be the factor that most altered attachment retention. Different saliva compositions did not influence retention values. Aging changes retention values for attachments, mostly with loss of values.

Annual review of selected scientific literature: A report of the Committee on Scientific Investigation of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry

The Scientific Investigation Committee of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry offers this review of the 2021 dental literature in restorative dentistry to inform busy dentists regarding noteworthy scientific and clinical progress over the past year. Each member of the committee brings discipline-specific expertise to coverage of this broad topical area. Specific subject areas addressed, in order of the appearance in this report, include COVID-19 and the dental profession (new); prosthodontics; periodontics, alveolar bone, and peri-implant tissues; implant dentistry; dental materials and therapeutics; occlusion and temporomandibular disorders; sleep-related breathing disorders; oral medicine and oral and maxillofacial surgery; and dental caries and cariology. The authors focused their efforts on reporting information likely to influence daily dental treatment decisions with an emphasis on future trends in dentistry. With the tremendous volume of dentistry and related literature being published daily, this review cannot possibly be comprehensive. Rather, its purpose is to update interested readers and provide important resource material for those interested in pursuing greater details on their own. It remains our intent to assist colleagues in negotiating the extensive volume of important information being published annually. It is our hope that readers find this work useful in successfully managing the patients and dental problems they encounter.

Influence of the loading protocol and platform switching in two-implant bar-retained overdentures: 3-year results from a randomized controlled equivalence clinical trial

OBJECTIVES

To test the null hypothesis that vertical peri-implant bone level alterations (ΔIBL) are equivalent in immediately (IL) and 3-month post-placement (DL) loaded implants in mandibular implant overdentures (IODs) on two implants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-two patients receiving two interforaminal implants, one with a platform-switched and one with a platform-matching abutment were randomly assigned to the IL or DL group (allocation ratio 1:1). All implants were primarily splinted with chairside-customized bars, converting the existing removable complete dentures to IODs. Standardized radiographs were recorded. The influence of the loading protocol (IL vs. DL), implant platform (platform switched vs. platform matching), implant site (43 vs. 33), participant age (≤65 vs. >65 years), and definition of baseline (implant placement vs. implant loading) were analyzed, applying linear regression analyses (α = 0.05). The equivalence range was [-0.4; 0.4].

RESULTS

Three participants of the IL group were lost during follow-up. The overall mean ΔIBL was -0.96 ± 0.89 mm. The ΔIBL was equivalent in terms of the implant platform and implant site but not in terms of participant age (in favor of more elderly participants) and the loading protocol. A significantly smaller ΔIBL was observed in the IL when the baseline was considered to be implant placement (p = .017), but not when it was considered to be implant loading (p = .084).

CONCLUSION

Immediate loading of primary-splinted implants in two-implant bar-retained overdentures, seems beneficial relative to loading 3 months post-placement, with respect to ΔIBL. The ΔIBL were equivalent in terms of platform switching.