Assessing the fit of implant fixed prostheses: a critical review.
OBJECTIVE
This review critically compares the available clinical and laboratory methods for assessing the fit of an implant prosthesis.


METHODS
MEDLINE and PubMed databases were searched for studies related to the fit of implant prostheses or the effect of misfit. Different combinations of key words were used. The screening procedure was performed in two stages. In the first stage, the relevant articles were selected. In the second stage, from those articles, specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied.


RESULTS
Fifty-four articles were selected. Two different techniques were identified: in vitro and in vivo. The advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of each technique are discussed. There are clear limitations for the in vivo techniques. The in vitro techniques provide a more accurate measure of prosthesis misfit.


CONCLUSIONS
Because of the variety of techniques and the different parameters assessed by each, it is useful to combine several techniques to assess the accuracy of fit, quantify the effect of misfit, and subsequently determine an acceptable level of fit.
Abduo
Jaafar
J
Department of Oral Rehabilitation, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Jaafar_abduo@hotmail.com
Bennani
Vincent
V
Waddell
Neil
N
Lyons
Karl
K
Swain
Michael
M
D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis / Q000379:methods; D003830:Denture, Partial, Fixed; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D010780:Photogrammetry; D017755:Prosthesis Fitting; D014110:Touch