The Overall Survival, Complication-Free Survival, and Related Complications of Combined Tooth-Implant Fixed Partial Dentures: A Literature Review

This paper reviews the literature regarding possible complications, complication-free survival, and overall survival of fixed dental prostheses that use both implants and natural teeth as abutments. The paper also provides clinical guidelines for treatment based on this literature review. An electronic search utilizing the MEDLINE, BIOSIS Citation Index, and Web of Science™ Core Collection databases was undertaken, and a review of the 25 selected texts studying 22 different patient cohorts was carried out. From a total of 1610 implants reviewed, 40 were lost (33 due to loss of integration and 7 due to fracture), whereas, out of a total of 1301 teeth, 38 were lost, of which 16 were due to fracture. Seventy-three cases of tooth intrusion were detected. From a total of 676 frameworks reviewed (metal n = 645, Zirconia n = 31), 7 fractured, while veneer material fracture occurred in 70 out of 672 bridges. Overall, 502 out of 531 tooth-implant fixed prostheses (TIPFs) remained functional, and 336 out of 439 prostheses showed no technical or biological complications and remained functional. Rigid TIFPs permanently cemented to teeth with sufficient coronal structure and with limited use of prosthetic attachments offer a good long-term treatment option to patients with good oral hygiene following sound implant placement. This mode of treatment should be used when free-standing implant-supported options may not be possible. Larger randomized control studies and other clinical studies comparing tooth-to-implant-connected treatment with other forms of treatment are needed to better understand the place of TIFP treatment in oral rehabilitation.