Fixed Rehabilitation of Edentulous Mandibles Using 2 to 4 Implants: A Systematic Review

This systematic review evaluated survival rates, marginal bone loss (MBL), and complications of using 2 to 4 implants to support full-arch fixed prostheses in the mandible. An electronic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to identify relevant articles published until March 2015. Articles were critically reviewed to determine the level of quality. The initial search resulted in 910 articles from PubMed/MEDLINE, 162 titles from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and 363 from the Web of Science. After an initial assessment and careful reading, 19 studies published between 1999 and 2014 were included in this review. The results of this review suggest that full-arch fixed dental prosthesis in mandible supported by 2 to 4 implants exhibited a low rate of failures for implants and prostheses, a low rate of MBL, and a low rate of biomechanical and biological complications.