Prosthetic rehabilitation of partially dentate or edentulous patients

Conclusions

• With tooth loss there is an associated deterioration in quality of life. Life becomes restricted – the existence of many people with tooth loss is characterized by loss of self-esteem, lower social status and deterioration in function.
• Treatment of tooth loss is very important for those afflicted. In several ways, receiving treatment for tooth loss signifies a return to normal lifestyle and improved quality of life.
• Patients with single tooth loss can be rehabilitated by tooth-supported bridges, resin-bonded bridges or implant-supported crowns. The five-year survival rate* for crowns and implants is over 90 percent.
• For patients with more extensive tooth loss, rehabilitation can be achieved by bridgework supported by the natural teeth or implants, or alternatively with a removable partial denture. Around 95 percent of implant bridges can be expected to survive for 5–10 years.
• Patients with edentulism, or maxillary or mandibular edentulism respectively, can be rehabilitated with complete dentures supported by the oral mucosa, or implant-supported constructions. Implant-retained bridge constructions have a five-year survival rate of over 90 percent. For mandibular overdentures,
  over 90 percent of constructions remain after five years.
• There is an insufficient scientific basis on which to determine which of these treatment methods gives the best results in terms of aesthetics and function, or is the most cost-effective.
• A survey of established practice by dentists shows that rehabilitation of patients who have lost teeth is today mainly in the form of fixed tooth- or implant-retained prostheses. It is estimated that for the year 2007, implants comprised around 18 percent of the support for fixed constructions.

* survival = the crown or bridge is retained in place and functional.