Effect of cantilevers for implant-supported prostheses on marginal bone loss and prosthetic complications: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the influence of cantilevers upon implant-supported fixed partial dentures on marginal bone loss (MBL) and prosthetic-related complications.

Materials And Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted in the PubMed database by two reviewers (LTM and AM) for articles written in English from June 2003 to January 2013 that were prospective human clinical trials with the clear purpose of appraising the effect of implant-supported fixed partial prostheses on peri-implant bone level and prosthetic complications. Data from the selected studies were extracted to carry out the statistical analysis.