Implant-Retained Maxillary and Mandibular Overdentures - A Solution for Completely Edentulous Patients

Abstract

The main goal of modern removable prosthodontics is to restore the normal appearance, function, esthetics and speech in each completely edentulous patient. However, if all teeth are missing in a patient, it becomes very complicated to achieve it using traditional protocols. Therefore, implants were introduced into removable prosthodontics to ensure better retention and stability of the conventional dentures. In case of a large amount of bone missing in the jaw it is necessary to ensure the functioning of the dentures constructing various additional stabilizing and retentive prosthodontic solutions on the osseointegrated implants. Numerous types of attachment systems have been used recently for relating implant-retained overdentures to underlying implants: basically splinting (various bar shape designs) and non-splinting attachments (various ball type attachment, magnet attachment, telescopic coping systems). Indications for their use depend on the surgical and prosthodontic factors such as the number and position of the implants, the amount of free intermaxillary space and the type and size of the overdentures. Different indications, types of the overdentures and the attachment systems will be discussed in this chapter.