Clinical experiences of implant-supported prostheses with laser-welded titanium frameworks in the partially edentulous jaw: a 5-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Titanium frameworks have been used in the endentulous implant patient for the last 10 years. However, knowledge of titanium frameworks for the partially dentate patient is limited.

PURPOSE: To report the 5-year clinical performance of implant-supported prostheses with laser-welded titanium frameworks in the partially edentulous jaw.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A consecutive group of 383 partially edentulous patients were, on a routine basis, provided with fixed partial prostheses supported by Brånemark implants in the mandible or maxilla. Besides conventional frameworks in cast gold alloy, 58 patients were provided with titanium frameworks with three different veneering techniques, and clinical and radiographic 5-year data were collected for this group.

RESULTS: The overall cumulative survival rate was 95.6% for titanium-framework prostheses and 93.6% for implants. Average bone loss during the follow-up period was 0.4 mm. The most common complications were minor veneering fractures. Loose and fractured implant screw components were fewer than 2%. An observation was that patients on medications for cardiovascular problems may lose more implants than others (p < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: The clinical performance of prostheses with implant-supported laser-welded titanium frameworks was similar to that reported for conventional cast frames in partially edentulous jaws. Low-fusing porcelain veneers also showed clinical performance comparable to that reported for conventional porcelain-fused-to-metal techniques.