The Survival Rate of the Retention System for Extraoral Maxillofacial Prosthetic Implant: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review examines the survival rate of retention systems available for extraoral implant-supported prosthesis as there appears to be a lack of information in the literature regarding the same due to the limited data that represents the benefits and drawbacks of each system. The current investigation addresses this gap. If clinicians recognize the optimal survival rate of each retention system, they can select the appropriate retentive attachments increasing patient satisfaction regarding the use craniofacial prosthesis. The objective of this systematic review is to determine the optimal retention system for implant-retained craniofacial prosthesis. This systematic review has followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive electronic database search was performed to locate research articles on implant-retained craniofacial prostheses published from 2002 to 2024. The included studies were conducted in the English language and specifically compared various retention techniques or provided information on the survival rate, mechanical behavior, and prosthetic complications. Ten of 2857 satisfied the requirements for inclusion and were analyzed.