Clips vs Resilient Liners Used With Bilateral Posterior Prefabricated Bars for Retaining Four Implant-Supported...

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Biomaterials Science
• Prosthodontics

Background:

• Implant-supported mandibular overdentures are a common treatment for edentulous patients.
• Retention systems for these overdentures, such as bar-clips and silicone-resilient liners, can impact peri-implant tissue health.
• Optimizing peri-implant health is crucial for long-term implant success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To clinically compare the peri-implant tissue health between bar-clip and silicone-resilient liner retention systems.
• To evaluate plaque scores (MPI), bleeding scores (MBI), probing depth (PD), and implant stability (IS) over 12 months.
• To assess the efficacy of bilateral posterior bars in retaining implant-supported mandibular overdentures.

Main Methods:

• Thirty completely edentulous male patients received 4-implant supported mandibular overdentures.
• Patients were randomized into two groups: bar-clip retention (GI) or silicone-resilient liner retention (GII).
• Peri-implant tissue health was assessed at 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months post-insertion.

Main Results:

• Bar-clip retained implants (GI) showed significantly higher plaque, bleeding, and probing depth scores compared to silicone-resilient liners (GII).
• Implants in the bar-clip group (GI) exhibited significantly decreased implant stability at 6 and 12 months compared to the silicone-resilient liner group (GII).
• Silicone-resilient liners demonstrated better outcomes for peri-implant soft tissue health and implant stability.

Conclusions:

• Silicone-resilient liners are preferable to bar-clips for retaining implant-supported mandibular overdentures when using bilateral posterior bars.
• The bilateral posterior ready-made bar design may not be optimal for supporting implant-assisted mandibular overdentures.
• Peri-implant soft tissue health is significantly better with silicone-resilient liners compared to bar-clips.