Economic Evaluation of Implant-Supported Overdentures in Edentulous Patients: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: Edentulous patients benefit significantly from implant-supported overdenture prostheses. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of implant-supported overdentures (IODs) for edentulous patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The search was limited to studies written in English and included an electronic and manual search through MEDLINE (Ovid, 1946 to November 2015), Embase (Ovid, 1966 to November 2015), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (to November 2015), and PubMed (to November 2015). Two investigators extracted the data and assessed the studies independently. No meta-analysis was conducted due to the high heterogeneity within the literature.

RESULTS: Of the initial 583 selected articles, 10 studies involving 802 participants were included. Of these, 6 studies had a high risk of bias and the rest had an unclear risk of bias. Implant-supported prostheses were more cost-effective when compared to conventional dentures and fixed implant-supported prostheses. Overdentures supported by two implants and magnet attachment were reported as cost-effective.

CONCLUSION: Implant-supported overdentures are a cost-effective treatment for edentulous patients. More clinical studies with appropriate scientific vigor are required to further assess the cost-effectiveness of implant-supported overdentures.