The randomized shortened dental arch study: tooth loss over five years.
OBJECTIVE
The study was designed to provide clinical outcome data for two treatments of the shortened dental arch (SDA).


METHODS
In a multicenter randomized controlled clinical trial, patients with complete molar loss in one jaw were provided with either a partial removable dental prosthesis (PRDP) retained with precision attachments or treated according to the SDA concept preserving or restoring a premolar occlusion. No implants were placed. The primary outcome was tooth loss.


RESULTS
Of 152 treated patients, 132 patients reached the 5-year examination. Over 5 years, 38 patients experienced tooth loss. For the primary outcome tooth loss, the Kaplan-Meier survival rates at 5 years were 0.74 (95% CI 0.64, 0.84) in the PRDP group and 0.74 (95% CI 0.63, 0.85) in the SDA group. For tooth loss in the study jaw, the survival rates at 5 years were 0.88 (95% CI 0.80, 0.95) in the PRDP group and 0.84 (95% CI 0.74, 0.93) in the SDA group. The differences were not significant. No Cox regression models of appropriate fit explaining tooth loss on the patient level could be found.


CONCLUSIONS
The overall treatment goals of a sustainable oral rehabilitation and the avoidance of further tooth loss over longer periods were not reliably achievable. The influence of the type of prosthetic treatment on tooth loss might have been overestimated.


CONCLUSIONS
Regarding our results, the patient's view will gain even more importance in the clinical decision between removable and fixed restorations in SDAs.
Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dental School, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany, michael.walter@uniklinikum-dresden.de
M H
MH
Walter
W
W
Hannak
M
M
Kern
T
T
Mundt
W
W
Gernet
A
A
Weber
B
B
Wöstmann
H
H
Stark
D
D
Werner
S
S
Hartmann
U
U
Range
F
F
Jahn
N
N
Passia
P
P
Pospiech
G
G
Mitov
J
J
Brückner
S
S
Wolfart
E
E
Busche
R G
RG
Luthardt
G
G
Heydecke
B
B
Marré
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001641:Bicuspid / Q000502:physiology; D004245:DMF Index; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology*; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003834:Denture Precision Attachment; D003832:Denture, Partial, Removable; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome