Clinical Behavior and Complications of Mandibular Full-Arch Fixed Dental Prostheses Supported by Three Dental Implants. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Traditionally, 4–6 implants have been regarded as the optimal number of implants for supporting mandibular implant-supported fixed complete dental prostheses (ISFCDP). However, several studies have evaluated the clinical behavior and complications of ISFCDPs on three implants considering this option as a potentially valid alternative treatment. Fewer implants will not only reduce the economic cost but can also shorten surgical treatment time and minimize trauma, which will encourage more patients to receive this type of treatment. ABSTRACT: This systematic review and meta-analysis set out to assess the clinical behavior of mandibular implant-supported fixed complete dental prostheses (ISFCDP) on three dental implants by analyzing implant and prosthetic survival rates, marginal bone loss, biological/technical complications, and patient-reported outcomes. The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches were conducted in the Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, and Cochrane databases, complimented by a manual search in specialist journals for relevant articles published up to February 2021. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale tool was used to assess the quality of evidence in the studies reviewed. The study included 13 articles with 728 patients treated with 2184 implants. A mean implant survival rate of 95.9% (95% CI: 94.6–97.3%) and a prosthetic survival rate of 97.0% (95% CI: 95.7–98.3%) were obtained over 1–6-year follow-up periods. Mandibular implant-supported fixed complete dental prostheses on three dental implants would appear to be a viable option for restoring the edentulous mandible in comparison with mandibular ISFCDP on more than three implants. Further comparative studies are needed, with adequate protocols, as well as sufficient sample sizes and follow-up periods to confirm these findings.