Purpose: To evaluate the clinical, radiographic, and prosthetic outcomes of poly ether ether ketone (peek) versus poly ether ketone ketone (pekk) frameworks for mandibular implant-supported fixed detachable prosthesis.
Materials and method: Fourteen completely edentulous patients received complete dentures for three months. Four implants were inserted in the mandible at the canine and molar-premolar areas bilaterally following two-stage surgical technique. All patients were planned to receive mandibular fixed-detachable prostheses with individual zirconia crowns. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups according to the prosthesis framework material . Group A received a prothesis with PEEK framework while group B received a prothesis with PEKK framework. The implant success rate, modified Plaque Index (mPI), simplified Gingival Index (sGI), modified Sulcus Bleeding Index (mSBI) and Peri-implant bone loss (PIBL) were evaluated at loading, 6- and 12-months follow-up visits. Additionally, the total prosthetic complications were measured after a one-year follow-up period.
Results: All implants had a 100% success rate. The PEEK group showed statistically significant higher mPI, sGI and mSBI compared to the PEKK group at the 6 and 12 follow-up visits. Regarding PIBL results, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. The prosthetic complications in the PEEK and PEKK groups were four and eight events respectively. The most frequent complication was abutment screw loosening.
Conclusion
Within the limitations of this study, the fixed-detachable prosthesis with the PEKK framework may provide superior soft tissue health outcomes and fewer prosthetic complications compared to those with the PEEK framework.