RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Although immediate/early loading protocols for dental implants have presented encouraging outcomes, immediate loading procedures may cause discomfort to the patient and may increase the possibility of damage to the surgical site during the impression procedures. The aim of this study was to describe an alternative technique to fabricate a mandibular hybrid prosthesis in three or four days without making any final impression and to evaluate the outcomes of this technique. METHODS: Seven patients aged 41 to 71 years (mean age, 58 +/- 11) were considered for this study. Each patient received five implants for the reconstruction of the edentulous mandible. These implants were placed in the anterior region of an edentulous mandible and restored with a final mandibular hybrid prosthesis in four days using the Ohio State University (OSU) acrylic frame requiring no final impression procedure. The patients were followed up to 19 months after implant placement. RESULTS: No implants were lost, no technical complications were observed and only minor marginal bone loss was noted after an average 15 months. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical study shows that the OSU acrylic frame, which can easily be customized and accommodates variability in arch form, may be an alternative method to restore any edentulous mandible with an early load mandibular hybrid prosthesis.
