A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY ON THE MAINTENANCE OF IMPLANT PROSTHESES IN PRIVATE-PRACTICE

This study examined the adjustments, repairs, time, and costs required to maintain 69 implant prostheses in private prosthodontic practice f or an average of 22 months after placement. For the removable prosthes is design, the most common adjustment was contouring the prosthesis an d the most common repair was retentive component replacement. Screw ti ghtening or fracture repair were the most frequently needed modificati ons for fixed implant prostheses. Each removable implant prosthesis av eraged four times as many postplacement adjustments and almost twice a s many repairs as did each fixed implant prosthesis, and the mean leng th of each maintenance appointment was also longer for removable prost heses. Mean repair costs were approximately 60% higher for the removab le design.