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Visser A, Meijer JA et al. Int J Prosthodont 2006; 19: 271–278

Implant-supported overdentures reduce problems of lower denture retention and stability, but long-term follow-up studies on aftercare are lacking. In this Dutch study, patients referred because of repeated lower denture retention problems were randomised to 5 groups: overdenture (OD) on 2 implants (n=30) or conventional denture (CD: 30), both with bone 8-15 mm high, OD on 2 implants (32) or CD after vestibuloplasty (30) or CD (29), all with bone 16-25 mm.

In the 5 respective groups, 10 yrs follow-up was completed by 29, 25, 30, 25 and 24 subjects. Mean treatment times in minutes for these groups were: surgery period, 150, 0, 166, 149, 0; surgical aftercare, including provision of implants in some CD subjects: 41, 78, 35, 31, 78; prosthetic care, 207, 151, 198, 155, 157; and prosthetic aftercare, 354, 250, 266, 238, 306. There were no significant differences in mean times for prosthetic care and aftercare even including those subjects with CDs who subsequently received ODs, but the initial OD groups took significantly more time for surgical care and aftercare. The authors note that patient satisfaction is greater with ODs.