Optimal number of oral implants for fixed reconstructions: a review of the literature.

Mericske, Regina; Worni, Andreas (2014). Optimal number of oral implants for fixed reconstructions: a review of the literature. European journal of oral implantology, 7(Suppl. 2), S133-S153. Quintessence Pub.

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BACKGROUND AND AIM

So far there is little evidence from randomised clinical trials (RCT) or systematic reviews on the preferred or best number of implants to be used for the support of a fixed prosthesis in the edentulous maxilla or mandible, and no consensus has been reached. Therefore, we reviewed articles published in the past 30 years that reported on treatment outcomes for implant-supported fixed prostheses, including survival of implants and survival of prostheses after a minimum observation period of 1 year.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched to identify eligible studies. Short and long-term clinical studies were included with prospective and retrospective study designs to see if relevant information could be obtained on the number of implants related to the prosthetic technique. Articles reporting on implant placement combined with advanced surgical techniques such as sinus floor elevation (SFE) or extensive grafting were excluded. Two reviewers extracted the data independently.

RESULTS

A primary search was broken down to 222 articles. Out of these, 29 studies comprising 26 datasets fulfilled the inclusion criteria. From all studies, the number of planned and placed implants was available. With two exceptions, no RCTs were found, and these two studies did not compare different numbers of implants per prosthesis. Eight studies were retrospective; all the others were prospective. Fourteen studies calculated cumulative survival rates for 5 and more years. From these data, the average survival rate was between 90% and 100%. The analysis of the selected articles revealed a clear tendency to plan 4 to 6 implants per prosthesis. For supporting a cross-arch fixed prosthesis in the maxilla, the variation is slightly greater.

CONCLUSIONS

In spite of a dispersion of results, similar outcomes are reported with regard to survival and number of implants per jaw. Since the 1990s, it was proven that there is no need to install as many implants as possible in the available jawbone. The overwhelming majority of articles dealing with standard surgical procedures to rehabilitate edentulous jaws uses 4 to 6 implants.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Review Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > School of Dental Medicine > Department of Prosthodontics [discontinued]
UniBE Contributor:	Mericske, Regina, Worni, Andreas
Subjects:	600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
ISSN:	1756-2406
Publisher:	Quintessence Pub.
Language:	English
Submitter:	Eveline Carmen Schuler
Date Deposited:	29 Jan 2015 10:02
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:39
PubMed ID:	24977248
Uncontrolled Keywords:	dental implants, edentulous jaw, fixed prosthesis
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/61749