Background: No comprehensive patient-centered and clinical evaluations of the functional effect of treatment with implant-supported single crowns (ISSC) have been reported previously.
Objective: To investigate whether and how treatment with ISSC affects masticatory function and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in subjects with tooth agenesis.
Material and methods: In nine females and nine males (32 + or - 10 years) with agenesis treated with one to four ISSC (68% in the premolar region), the treatment effect and masticatory function were assessed. The evaluation was performed first after implant placement shortly before crown cementation, and again 1 month after cementation. It consisted of questionnaires [including Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-49)] and functional examination with plastic strips, the Dental Prescale Film and the Occluzer system, Xylitol color-changeable gum and slices of Granny Smith apple.
Results: The patients' satisfaction with treatment was high and they experienced a significant overall improvement in their OHRQoL (on average 13% reduction in the total OHIP scores). The cementation of the crowns was associated with a significant increase in the number of near occlusal tooth contacts, contact area, bite force, and masticatory ability and performance. Correspondingly, there was a significant, positive correlation between the number of tooth contacts and (1) occlusal contact area, (2) bite force, and (3) masticatory performance.
Conclusion: Treatment with ISSCs in subjects with tooth agenesis significantly increased masticatory function subjectively and clinically as well as OHRQoL. However, as the functional parameters before replacement of the teeth corresponded to values in subjects with complete dentitions, the functional importance of the increase may be questioned.