Patients with only a few remaining teeth are often supplementary provided with dental implants to fit a tooth-implant-supported telescopic-crown retained dental prostheses.
The aim of the present retrospective study was to investigate the survival probability of tooth-implant-supported telescopic crown retained dental prostheses as well as their durability until the first aftercare measurement became necessary. The influence of different dental-prosthetic parameters was considered. In addition, several reasons for replacement or loss of function of the prostheses just as incidental aftercare measures were taken into account. Furthermore, the survival probability of the dental implants and abutment teeth was observed and the reasons for tooth removal or im-plant loss were investigated.
A collective of 43 patients who are provided with 47 tooth-implant-supported tele-scopic crown retained dental prostheses at the Department of Prosthodontics at the Dental Clinic of the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, with a total 120 abutment teeth and 177 dental implants were statistically evaluated in the period from 2004 to 2021. The survival time was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.
During the observation period, the target event of new fabrication or loss of function occurred in three restorations (6.4%). The 5-year survival rate was 100% and 75% after 10 years. All variables observed (age, number of abutments, gender, tumor dis-ease, jaw location and opposing dentition) showed no significant influence on the target event (p>.05).
The 3-year survival rate until the first aftercare measurement became necessary was 7.05% and the 5-year survival rate was 3.52%. 43 dental prostheses (91.49%) re-quired aftercare measurements during the observation period. Among those, the re-moval of pressure spots was the most common intervention. Only the factor gender showed a significant influence on the survival probability until the first aftercare measurement became necessary (p<.05, Breslow test). Therefore, prostheses in wom-en showed a higher and earlier need for aftercare measurements in comparison to men. However, a recalculation excluding an adaptation period of 30 days, showed no significance regarding the gender.
During the observation period, tooth removal or implant loss occurred in 22 cases (7.41%). The 5-year survival rate was determined at 90.49% and after 10 years at 81.64% for all abutments. All variables observed showed no significant influence on the target event (p>.05). The most common reason for implant loss was peri-implantitis whereas natural teeth were susceptible to carious destruction.
The results of the present study demonstrate that tooth-implant-supported telescopic crown retained dental prostheses are a very durable and successful prosthetic treat-ment option for patients with only few remaining teeth. The possible link of the two abutment types (tooth-implant) in combination with the interlocking of the telescopic crown retained dental prostheses lead to an increase in the survival probability of all components.
Sarah Marie Reich
Dentaltechnologie Materialstudie Zahnmedizin