Survival Rate of Removable Partial Dentures with Mandibular Bilateral Free End Saddle: A Retrospective Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the survival of removable partial dentures with a mandibular bilateral free end saddle (BFES) and abutment teeth in a clinical setting. Only mandibular dentures with a BFES were included (10 or fewer present teeth, and fewer than 4 occlusal units). The endpoints were replacement of denture and loss of abutment teeth. A total of 128 dentures and 595 abutment teeth were analyzed. Nineteen dentures had to be replaced during the observation period (mean duration: 11.4 +/- 6.9 years; range: 3 to 36 years). According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, the survival rate was 93.2% at 10 years and 68.6% at 20 years. The estimated mean survival period was 27.8 years. Single-factor analysis using the log-rank test showed that no factor investigated had a significant influence. The main reason for denture replacement was loss of abutment teeth (47.4%). The survival rate of the abutment teeth was 91.3% at 10 years and 77.3% at 20 years. The analysis revealed 4 significant risk factors: male sex (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.78); premolars (HR 1.67); a lower number of abutment teeth (HR 3.24); and history of endodontic treatment (HR: 2.79). The removable partial dentures with a mandibular BFES in this study lasted over 20 years, and their survival was influenced by loss of abutment teeth. Dentures are used continuously over long periods of time and should therefore be designed to allow easy adjustment when abutment teeth are lost.