Purpose: The aim of this article is to systematically review the literature on prosthodontic maintenance requirements of maxillary implant overdentures with different prosthodontic designs.
Materials and methods: A standard approach of searching MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases as well as early online journal articles was followed. Hand-searching identified other relevant articles from the reference lists of the articles found. Selection criteria were details of prosthodontic maintenance related to different prosthodontic designs of maxillary implant overdentures, regardless of the dentition of the opposing arch or prosthesis.
Results: From a total of 58 relevant studies identified, only 18 met the criteria. Several categories were used to document the prosthodontic maintenance of maxillary implant overdentures, usually with four or more splinted or unsplinted implants using different attachment systems. Aspects of patrix and matrix maintenance were primarily reported, although soft tissue complications were described frequently. Subjective information on relines and the rationale for minimizing overdenture fractures was found.
Conclusions: Prosthodontic maintenance requirements of maxillary overdentures are a direct consequence of the attachment system, together with differing numbers and distributions of implants. The reviewed literature does not provide a clear controlled indication of prosthodontic maintenance requirements of maxillary overdentures for different prosthodontic designs and attachment systems. Future standardization of maxillary implant overdenture design is recommended, and universally accepted criteria for reporting maxillary implant overdenture maintenance should be implemented to establish accurate comparative data analysis.