Clinical performance of single implant prostheses restored using titanium base abutments: A systematic review and...

The aim of this review was to evaluate the survival rates of restorations utilizing titanium base abutments (TBA) for restoring single-unit implant prostheses.

This review was conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The focus question was: In patients who require the restoration of a single dental implant utilizing a titanium base abutment, what are the determining factors and outcomes relating to implant prosthesis prognosis and survival? A comprehensive search of databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) was conducted on 16 April 2023 and updated on 5 May 2023. Randomized clinical trials (RCT), retrospective studies and prospective studies, reporting on the use of TBA for single implant prostheses, were reviewed. A Cochrane collaboration risk of bias assessment analysis was performed for randomized clinical studies, and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool was applied for non-randomized studies. A meta-analysis was performed on clinical trials reporting on survival rates of both TBA and other abutments. Other clinical studies, reporting on TBA only, were included for descriptive statistics.

The search provided 1159 titles after duplicates were removed. Six RCTs were included to perform a meta-analysis and compare the survival of the TBA to other abutments [OR 0.74; 95% CI: 0.21-2.63, heterogeneity; I² 0%; p = .99]. Twenty-three prospective and retrospective studies fulfilled the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis after 12 months of function. A total of 857 single implant-supported prostheses fabricated with a TBA were included. TBA abutments have an estimate 98.6% survival rate after 1 year in function (95% CI: 97.9%-99.4%). The mean follow-up period was 31.2 ± 16.9 months.

Single implant prosthesis restored with titanium base abutments showed favourable short-term survival rates.