The Effects of Annual Maintenance on Peri-implant Health in Patients Rehabilitated with Overdentures: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to assess the effects of annual maintenance over a 7-year period on the peri-implant health of patients rehabilitated with overdentures using clinical and radiographic parameters. In order to be considered for inclusion in the study, patients had to have been rehabilitated with overdentures that had at least two implants placed in the mandible and four implants in the maxilla. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1 comprised individuals who had undergone annual maintenance over the previous 7 years, and group 2 comprised those who had not attended any dental appointment over the previous 7 years. All patients were submitted to clinical peri-implant examinations and radiographic assessments. Sixty-six patients received 396 implants of the external hexagon type, 132 in the mandible and 264 in the maxilla. Group 1 (44 patients with 264 implants) had a mean probing depth of 2.72 mm, while group 2 (22 patients with 132 implants) had a mean probing depth of 3.10 mm. It can be concluded that the mean of the variable probing depth is influenced by the presence of bleeding (P = .0005) and the implementation of maintenance (P = .0188), whereas plaque and local variables were not otherwise significant (P = .0605 and .0796, respectively). In this study, it was possible to observe better clinical conditions in individuals who had attended annual appointments for maintenance purposes.