A Retrospective Analysis of Maxillary Overdentures with Non-splinted Implants

Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate implant and prosthesis survival as well as complications associated with implant-supported overdentures for edentulous maxilla retained by non-splinted implants. Materials and Methods: A total of 76 patients who had received maxillary implant-supported overdentures for at least 6 months were included in the study. A comprehensive review of patient charts was done to assess implant and prosthodontic outcomes in these patients. Descriptive data were compiled, and statistical analysis of each variable was done. The number of subjects or study position, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values were presented for continuous data, and frequencies and percentages for categorical data. Correlation between categorical variables was done using Spearman’s method with 2-tailed significance test. Results: 10 implants failed in 7 patients resulting in implant survival rate of 96.9% following prosthesis delivery. The prosthesis survival rate was 78.9% with 16 patients (21.1%) out of 76 patients needing a remake of their prosthesis. The most common technical complication was tooth debonding with 21.2% of technical complications. A correlation analysis found that the opposing dentition contributed to the increase of number of technical complications of the implant-supported maxillary, r(75)=.24, P < .05. Conclusion: Maxillary implant-supported overdentures with non-splinted implants, in this retrospective study, demonstrated high implant survival rates comparable to previous studies. However, the prosthesis survival rate was lower than outlined in the literature about maxillary implant overdentures with splinted or non-splinted designs.