Zirconia full‐arch implant prostheses: Survival, complications, and prosthetic space dimensions with 115 edentulous jaws

Abstract Purpose To assess the survival and complication rates of 115 monolithic zirconia implant‐supported fixed complete dental prostheses (IFCDPs) with an up to 6‐year follow‐up. Materials and Methods One hundred fifteen edentulous jaws (71 patients) underwent complete‐arch implant treatment with a digital workflow and were rehabilitated with monolithic zirconia IFCDPs. The primary outcome was to assess survival and complication rates while the secondary outcome was to measure the cross‐sectional dimensions (prosthetic space) of those 115 monolithic zirconia IFCDPs and to correlate potential technical complications with the prosthetic space dimensions. Results Out of the 115 zirconia IFCDPs, 2 fractured, yielding a 98.6% survival rate up to a 6‐year follow‐up. The most commom minor technical complications were loss of screw access channel filling and porcelain chipping for the modified monolithic IFCDPs. There was no significant association between the count and type of complications and jaw location (maxilla vs. mandible) or prosthesis type (FP1 vs. FP3), according to Fisher's exact test. For maxillary zirconia IFCDPs, the mean square surface for the at the posterior abutment cross‐sectional area was 25.18 mm 2 at the lingual side of the abutment and 34.19 mm 2 at the buccal side, respectively. The anterior abutment cross‐sectional area was 33.92 mm 2 at the lingual side of the abutment and 29.49 mm 2 at the buccal side, respectively. For mandibular zirconia IFCDPs, the mean square surface at the posterior abutment cross‐sectional area was 29.89 mm 2 at the lingual side of the abutment and 39.05 mm 2 at the buccal side, respectively. The anterior abutment cross‐sectional area was 27.07 mm 2 at the lingual side of the abutment and 56.50 mm 2 at the buccal side, respectively. At the connector cross‐sectional area, the mean square surface for the maxillary zirconia IFCDPs was 64.33 and 90.56 mm 2 for the mandibular zirconia IFCDPs. The two fractures occurred in the midline (anterior area) for both maxillary FP1 prosthesis and mandibular FP3 prosthesis. The mean surface area at the connector for the maxillary FP1 prosthesis was 28.50 and 82.11 mm 2 for the mandibular FP3 prosthesis, and was within the range of IFCDP connector square surface area. There was no significant association between the thickness of the zirconia prosthesis and the encountered prosthesis fractures. Conclusions Monolithic zirconia IFCDPs yielded a 98.6% survival rate, after a mean observation period of 62 months with an SE of 3.1. The connector mean surface area in the two fractured IFCDPs was within the square surface range (minimum–maximum) as for the remaining 113 complication‐free IFCDPs.