introduction: A patient submitted to delayed loading protocol ought to be given a provisional restoration at the interval between the first and second phase of implant therapy. This provisional restoration is made to satisfy the prerequisites of mastication, aesthetics, & to reduce the psychological trauma associated with teeth loss. The reason for this examination was to assess clinical & radiographic outcomes of the provisionally-used flexible removable partial denture (RPD) on both; the implants placed as well as the adjacent abutment teeth.
Materials & methods: For the outcome of this clinical research study, ten patients with lost teeth in the anterior maxilla were treated by implant placement. Directly following sutures removal & gingival healing, every single patient received new flexible provisional RPD with aesthetic clasps (resting on adjacent abutment teeth) being fabricated in the usual manner. and mandibular complete dentures prior to implant placement. After common denture delivery adjustments, every patient was instructed to use the denture in a conventional manner for six months, with a follow-up appointment every month. After six months of implants placement (to ensure complete implants osseointegration), patients completed the implant restoration phase till receiving anterior fixed restorations. Clinical & radiographic outcomes for the implants and the abutments were measured Three times (at time of insertion, three months and six months, respectively)
Results: For parametric data; Repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to study the changes by time, while for non-parametric data; Friedman's test was used to study the changes by time. Those studies revealed that: There was no statistically significant changes in mean clinical & radiographic measurements around both the implants & the abutments throughout the whole study period.
Conclusion: Using flexible RPD with aesthetic clasps as a provisional restoration during the period of implants osseointegration was favourable and preserved the health of supporting structures of the abutment teeth as well as the implants, in addition to enhanced aesthetics & psychological confidence of the patients.