Implant-assisted removable partial dentures as an alternative treatment for partial edentulism: a review of the literature.

This study reviewed the current literature concerning implant-assisted removable partial dentures (RPDs) in order to present the existing knowledge about performance issues. An electronic search was conducted on the PubMed database for published English-language articles that contained information about implant-assisted RPDs. A review of these articles indicated that the combination of dental implants with RPDs constitutes a cost-efficient prosthetic protocol that can offer solutions to problematic aspects of treatment with removable partial dentures. Well-designed studies are still needed to provide robust evidence on critical issues, such as design guidelines, long-term survival of implants associated with RPDs, and their effect on patients' quality of life.