Does a Prosthodontist Spend More Time Providing Mandibular Two-Implant Overdentures than Conventional Dentures?

Purpose: In this article, the time taken by a prosthodontist to fabricate and maintain mandibular overdentures retained by two implants and conventional dentures is compared. Materials and Methods: Sixty edentulous patients between the ages of 65 and 75 completed a randomized clinical trial. All received new maxillary conventional dentures and either a mandibular conventional denture (n = 30) or a two-implant overdenture on ball attachments (n = 30). The time spent by the prosthodontist and the number of visits required for treatment, including both scheduled and unscheduled visits, were recorded for each patient from preliminary impressions to 6 months following delivery. Data from the two groups were compared using Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: The prosthodontist spent a mean total time of 296 minutes in treating an implant overdenture patient and 282 minutes on a conventional denture patient during the period from preliminary impressions to the 6-month follow-up. The mean numbers of appointments were 10.1 (implant group) and 10.8 (conventional group). These differences were not significant. Conclusion: Although additional knowledge is required to treat patients with implant prostheses, the time required by the prosthodontist to provide twoimplant mandibular overdentures with ball attachments was not significantly different than the time needed for conventional denture treatment.