Telescopic Crowns On Implants And Teeth: Evaluation Of A Clinical Study After 8 to 12 Years

To evaluate the outcome of a clinical study on telescopic-crown-retained removable dental prostheses (TCR-RDPs) on implants or implants and teeth after 8 to 12 years.

Between 1999 and 2002, 39 (41 jaws) patients received implant- or combined tooth-implant-supported TCR-RDPs in the maxilla and/or mandible. One-stage surgery was performed, and after a conventional healing period, TCR-RDPs were inserted. Thirty-one patients (33 prostheses) were available for annual follow-up investigations with a standardized protocol from 2010 until 2013. Cumulative survival and success of the abutments was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and a Cox regression model was used to identify potential predictors for abutment complications. Patients' oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) was measured by means of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP).

After a mean observation period of 11.3 ± 1.1 years, all restorations were still functioning successfully. Two implants and 10 abutment teeth were lost, leading to significantly different implant and tooth survival rates of 97.6% (SE ± 1.7%) and 81.8% (SE 5.3%; P = .007). Implants placed in the mandible, and those in the group with a higher number of abutments (5 to 6 vs 2 to 4) showed higher success rates. The success rates of abutment teeth were not influenced by location (mandible vs maxilla) or number of abutments (5 to 6 vs 2 to 4).

Implant- or combined tooth-implant-supported TCR-RDPs provided a satisfying treatment option for patients with severely reduced dentition in the long term. Due to the small sample size, the results presented should be interpreted with caution.