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Article Type

Original Article

Section/Category

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Abstract

Objective:

To assess the effect of implant number (three, four, and five unsplinted implants) on maximum bite force (MBF) of maxillary implant overdentures opposed by two‑implant mandibular overdentures.

Materials and Methods:

Twelve completely edentulous cases were recruited from the Outpatient Clinic, Prosthodontics Department. Five implants were placed in the maxilla (midline, bilateral canines, and bilateral molars). Using a randomized crossover design, three loading configurations were evaluated sequentially for three months each: three implants (midline and canines), five implants (all implants), and four implants (canines and molars). Maximum bite force was determined utilizing a GM10 occlusal force meter (Nagano Keiki Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) at the anterior and posterior regions for each loading configuration after 3 months. Three readings per site were recorded and averaged. Statistical analysis was performed utilizing one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc test (α = 0.05).

Results:

Posterior MBF significantly elevated with increasing implant number. The five-implant configuration demonstrated the highest posterior values, followed by the four-implant configuration, while the three-implant configuration illustrated the lowest values. A significant variance was observed between the three-implant configuration and both five -and a four-implant configuration in anterior MBF, while no significant difference exists between five- and four-implant configurations.

Conclusion:

Increasing the number of supporting implants improved maximum bite force in maxillary implant-retained overdentures, particularly in the posterior region. Although anterior MBF also improved when more than three implants were used, no significant difference was observed between the four- and five-implant configurations. Clinically, four implants may provide a practical alternative to five implants when anatomical or financial limitations exist.

Keywords

Implant‑retained overdenture, maximum bite force, randomized crossover study.

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