TASSAROTTI BRUNO (Dental School - University of Milan - Italy)
The continuos increase in the number of partially edentulous patients is a potential for a significant increase in the use of implants in rehabilitating these individuals. Partially edentulous patients may be involved in the use of endosseous implants in two different clinical situations: with or without connections with natural teeth. When the fixed partial denture is supported by natural teeth and implants at the same time, it has to be considered that natural teeth usually show physiologic mobility, whereas osseointegrated titanium abutments are clinically immovable. Following the results of recent researches on this matter, the initial anxiety about connecting natural teeth and implants may have been overrated and osseointegrated prostheses can also be applied to the rehabilitation of partial edentulism; nevertheless more clinical studies of prosthodontic factors are needed to confirm this conclusion, especially with regard to the different types of connection between these 2 elements.
This study considers 15 rehabilitations of partially edentulous jaws, made with different prosthetic techniques (implants with single posts and cemented prostheses - rigid; implants connected by means of a screwed substructure and a cemented superstructure - rigid; prostheses screwed on implants - segmented) for a total of 38 fixtures. In all cases we used osseointegrated implants (Brånemark type) and the prostheses on implants were connected with natural teeth.
The observation time varied between 24 and 48 months after prosthetic reconstruction and the rate of success. was 92 % with all failures occurring before the rehabilitation.