Consensus Conference on the Optimum Number of Implants
Patient centered management and optimal number of implants in the treatment of edentulism
For a fixed prosthesis in the edentulous maxilla or mandible, four or six implants are appropriate as long as the placement does not necessitate major bone grafting procedures, says a group of globally-renowned experts, with dental, medical, engineering and physiology backgrounds, who met recently at a Consensus Meeting held at the University of Mainz in Germany on March 27-28, 2014.
Organized by the Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation (FOR), an independent initiative that unites health care professionals worldwide to improve oral healthcare, the two-day consensus meeting focused on two important topics: patient-centered management and the optimal number of implants needed for the treatment of edentulism.
Leading up to the Consensus Meeting, FOR invited an international team of eight experts to expound upon the different aspects of edentulous jaw rehabilitation. Their investigations of literature, along with quality of life considerations, biometrics, jaw function, prosthodontics and randomized controlled trials evaluations led to a compilation of reports that were distributed and debated among experts at the Consensus Meeting.
Contents
The full text article contains the following papers:
- Patients’ preferences towards minimally invasive treatment alternatives for implant rehabilitation of edentulous jaws
- Biomechanical aspects of the optimal number of implants to carry a cross-arch full restoration
- Optimal number of oral implants for fixed reconstructions: A review of the literature
- Functional jaw muscle assessment in patients with a full fixed prosthesis on a limited number of implants: A review of the literature
- The fate of marginal bone around axial vs. tilted implants: A systematic review
- A systematic review of implant-supported overdentures in the edentulous maxilla, compared to the mandible: How many implants?
- Autogenous bone harvesting and grafting in advanced jaw resorption: Morbidity, resorption and implant survival
- Augmentation procedures using bone substitute materials or autogenous bone – a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Patient-centred rehabilitation of edentulism with an optimal number of implants
Expert Committee
The following experts joined the consensus meeting:
Drs. Gerry Raghoebar, Bernhard Pommer, Claudia Dellavia, John Brunski, Wilfried Wagner, Daniel van Steenberghe, Emeka Nkenke, Massimo Del Fabbro, Bilal Al-Nawas, Regina Mericske-Stern, and Georg Watzek.