Patient satisfaction with mini-implant stabilised full dentures. A 1-year prospective study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient-centred outcomes with regard to function and comfort after placement of mini-implants for stabilisation of complete dentures. The trial was designed as a prospective cohort of 12-months duration and involved 21 subjects in the age of 50-90years having a full denture in the maxilla or the mandible with poor stability during function. Flapless installation of 2-4 narrow-body Dentatus Atlas (R) implants was performed and retention for the existing denture was obtained by the use of a silicone-based soft lining material (Tuf-Link (R)). Patients' judgement of perceived satisfaction with function and comfort of the dentures was recorded at baseline, 1- and 12-months post-treatment using 10-centimetre visual analogue scales (VAS) and a questionnaire. Clinical examination of the conditions of the peri-implant soft tissues was performed at 12 months. Nineteen of the 21 patients were available for the 12-month follow-up examination. The two drop-out subjects lost all implants within 1month and rejected retreatment. Further six subjects lost 1-2 implants, but were sucessfully retreated by insertion of new implants. Overall satisfaction, chewing and speaking comfort were all markedly improved from pre-treatment median VAS scores of around 4-5 to median scores of 9 center dot 0-10 (10=optimal) at the final examination. The prevalence of positive answers to questions regarding stability/function of the denture increased significantly to almost 100% for all questions. Treatment involving maxillary dentures and the use of short implants (7-10mm) was associated with an increased risk of implant failure. The results indicate that placement of mini-implants as retentive elements for full dentures with poor functional stability has a marked positive impact on the patients' perception of oral function and comfort as well as security in social life.