Patients' Satisfaction and Clinical Investigation of Removable Partial Denture Anchorage With Extracoronal Adhesive Attachments in Comparison With Clasp-retained Partial Dentures

Plain-language summary

Removable partial dentures (RPD) are a well-established treatment option for the prosthetic rehabilitation of partially edentulous patients. They are retained at the remaining natural teeth by clasps to provide functional stability. As an alternative to clasps extacoronal adhesive attachments are fixed to the abutment teeth using adhesive cementation techniques. These adhesive attachments improve retention and stability of the prostheses and are indicated when the patient requires a non-visible retention element and healthy coronal tooth structure is available as a prerequisite. In clinical practice, extracoronal adhesive attachments offer a minimally invasive and aesthetic anchoring alternative of removable dental prostheses associated with higher costs compared to a common clasp retention. As a result, adhesive attachments are relatively rarely used and are technically sensitive both in the clinical realisation and in terms of the dental technology. Hence, limited scientific data are available regarding their long-term clinical behaviour, but no data is available about patients' satisfaction with such extracoronal adhesive attachments. This research project aims to investigate patients' satisfaction with extracoronal adhesive attachments (group A) of removable dental prostheses in comparison to clasps (group B), and to investigate the short- and long-term clinical performance of both treatment options. This is a non-interventional observational study. Only routine clinical examinations are performed. No additional risks or burdens arise for participants. All measures fall under minimal risk A according to ClinO, Art. 61. Overall risk: Minimal. No invasive procedures or biological sampling. Ethical and legal standards are fully met. Sex and gender dimensions are not relevant to the topic of the study as the population is determined by patients treated since 2001 and cannot be influenced by the study design.

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