Complication and Failure Rates of Tooth-Supported Fixed Dental Prostheses After 7 to 19 Years in Function

Purpose: The aims of this study were to reexamine patients who had received fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) more than 10 years prior, list the frequencies of observed technical and biologic failures and complications, and calculate the estimated failure and complication rates at 10 and 15 years. Materials and Methods: Fifty-six of 195 patients who were treated by undergraduate students during their state board examinations in fixed prosthodontics between 1990 and 1999 at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, were recalled successfully. Results: At reexamination, it was determined that 56 patients with a mean age of 62 years (range: 41 to 85 years) had received 95 metal-ceramic FDPs supported by 202 abutment teeth. Prostheses had been in function for 7 to 19 years (mean: 14 years). The FDPs demonstrated a high estimated survival rate of 90.4% after 10 years and 80.5% after 15 years, although 17 of the 202 abutment teeth had been lost. The probability to remain free from any complication/failure was 79.7% at 10 years and 34.6% at 15 years. The risk of FDPs being affected by a biologic complication or failure after 10 years was 14.9%; the risk was 5.34% for a technical complication or failure. After 15 years, the risks of a biologic or technical complication or failure were 45.7% and 19.7%, respectively. Conclusions: The survival rates of FDPs decreased gradually with time. Freedom from complications and failures was drastically decreased for FDPs that had been in function for longer than 10 years.