Mandibular implant-supported overdentures and oral function.
OBJECTIVE
Oral rehabilitation by means of implant-retained mandibular overdentures is known to improve oral function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of mandibular implant treatment on oral function. We quantified maximum bite force and masticatory performance 10 years after implant treatment. It was hypothesized that these outcome measures would not change in this period.


METHODS
Eighteen edentulous patients were scheduled for re-evaluation of their oral function 10 years after they had participated in a randomized cross-over clinical trial. In that trial, they had received two mandibular implants and a new denture with successively magnet-, ball-socket, and bar-clip attachments.


RESULTS
At the 10-year follow-up, 14 of the initial 18 patients participated in the evaluation. As a result of the implant treatment, the average maximum bite force more than doubled, from 162 to 341 N, whereas the average number of chewing cycles to halve the initial particle size decreased from 55 to 27 cycles. No significant changes in maximum bite force and masticatory performance were observed after 10 years. However, the average maximum bite force obtained with implant-retained overdentures is still significantly lower than that of dentate subjects (569 N).


CONCLUSIONS
Maximum bite force and masticatory performance significantly increased after implant treatment and remained unaltered during the following 10-year period. Thus, implant treatment greatly improves oral function for a long period of time.
van der Bilt
Andries
A
Department of Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery, Prosthodontics and Special Dental Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. a.vanderbilt@umcutrecht.nl
Burgers
M
M
van Kampen
F M C
FM
Cune
M S
MS
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001732:Bite Force; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; D003779:Denture Design; D003781:Denture Retention; D003826:Denture, Complete, Lower; D003828:Denture, Overlay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000502:physiology; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D010316:Particle Size; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric