Electroplated double-crowns on implants and teeth after up to 12 years- a retrospective clinical study.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the outcome of implant-supported or combined tooth-implant-supported prostheses retained by electroplated double-crowns after 1-12 years.

Methods: Twenty-five patients were retrospectively examined in a private dental practice in Hamburg, Germany. All had been rehabilitated with a removable prosthesis retained by electroplated double-crowns, for at least one year. Fifteen patients had implant-supported prostheses and 10 had combined tooth-implant-supported prostheses in the maxilla or the mandible. Biological and technical complications were recorded at the clinical examination and extracted from the patient records. Kaplan-Meier implant and tooth survival rates were calculated. Potential risk factors for severe complications were identified. Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) was measured by a short version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) questionnaire. Patients reported subjective chewing function using a visual analogue scale.

Results: Kaplan-Meier survival rates were 100% for natural abutments and 90.9% for implants after 11.8 years (p = 0.54). Two implants in two patients were lost at 8 and 9 years due to peri-implantitis in the "solely implant" group. The most common complications were decementation of primary crowns and wear of the prosthetic teeth. The mean OHIP score for the group "tooth-implant-supported" was 5.2 ± 5.0, whereas the mean score for the "solely implant" group was 1.7 ± 2.9 (p = 0.039). Patients rated their subjective masticatory function very high with an average score of 9.4 ± 0.8 out of a possible 10.

Conclusions: Implant-supported or combined tooth-implant-supported prostheses retained by electroplated double-crowns are a viable method of treatment with a satisfactory outcome. Maintenance has been manageable and patients have reported very good subjective chewing function after several years of function.