An Innovative Implant-Supported Treatment for the Edentulous Mandible: Case Report

When surveyed, edentulous patients commonly state that they would prefer an implant-supported restoration to conventional removable dentures. However, acceptance of implant-supported restorations remains low, primarily due to the high cost of available solutions. To reduce cost and treatment time for patients with an edentulous mandible or failing mandibular dentition, an innovative treatment concept consisting of a standardized framework and time-efficient surgical and restorative protocols was developed. The prefabricated titanium framework is supported on three implants using an adaptive fixation mechanism that compensates for surgical misalignment of the implants to achieve passive fit. The definitive fixed, full-arch mandibular prosthesis can be delivered within 24 hours of implant placement. This patient presentation demonstrates the treatment of a man 82 years of age with complete edentulism. The entire treatment time from surgery to definitive placement was 3 hours over a single business day. After 2 years of function with immediate loading, the patient displayed favorable hard and soft tissue outcomes. Initial results indicate that treatment with this premanufactured device could potentially provide patients with a fixed fullarch implant-supported mandibular restoration with reduced clinical treatment time compared with other implant-supported treatments. Keywords: cost- and time-efficient, dental implants, edentulous, failing, mandible, terminal dentition, Trefoil