Traditional solutions, including conventional dentures or implant-supported overdentures, may fall short in terms of stability, bone preservation, and long-term maintenance in these complex scenarios.
In this context, we introduce a novel rehabilitation modality: the implant-crown-retained removable partial denture (IC-RPD).
This concept combines a limited number of strategically placed splinted implant crowns (typically in anterior regions with adequate bone) with a removable partial denture framework that restores the remaining edentulous areas.
By doing so, IC-RPDs aim to avoid extensive bone augmentation or sinus-lift procedures, while offering a more conservative and maintainable solution.
In the present clinical retrospective study, we compared 20 IC-RPD cases (74 splinted implant crowns) to 18 conventional implant overdentures (IOD, 71 implants with magnet attachments) in 38 maxillary edentulous patients.
We evaluated implant survival, marginal bone loss (MBL), patient-reported functional and esthetic outcomes (PROMs), and prosthetic complications over a median follow-up period of 47.1 months.
The IC-RPD group demonstrated a high implant survival rate (97.3% vs. 70.4% for IOD; p 0.001), significantly lower MBL at final check-up (1.12 ± 1.19 mm vs. 3.31 ± 1.71 mm; p 0.001), and fewer prosthetic complications.
Functional and esthetic satisfaction improved markedly in both groups, though the IC-RPD approach offered a favorable balance of clinical efficacy and procedural simplicity.
Given these findings, IC-RPD appears to be a viable and less invasive alternative for rehabilitating maxillary edentulous patients—especially when anatomical limitations preclude fixed full-arch prostheses or extensive bone surgery.
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