Evaluation of Tissues Surrounding Implant Supported Fixed Partial Denture with and without Cantilever Extension

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the status of supporting tissue around implant-supported fixed partial denture with or without cantilever clinically and radiographically during a four-year period. Materials and Methods: One hundred and fifty nine patients who were treated by 482 implants supported fixed partial prosthesis with and without cantilever after at least four years of treatment, were evaluated. Clinical and radiographic indices of plaque index, probing pocket depth, bleeding index, and marginal bone loss were measured. Collected data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney, Fridman and repeated-measures ANOVA tests using SPSS software. Results: The overall survival rate of implant supported prosthesis was 95.9% after at least four years of treatment. The success rates of implant supported fixed prosthesis with and without cantilever were 94.6% and 96.8% respectively. Marginal bone loss in the cantileveredfixed prosthesis was significantly more than the second group after two and four years of treatment (P<0.001), however, all the clinical indices were not significantly different. Conclusion: Considering the guidelines of cantilever prosthesis applications, using the cantilevered fixed partial dentures have a similar and comparable prognosis as the traditional implant-supported fixed prostheses.