Comprehensive Oral Prosthetics in General Dental Practice: A Narrative Review of Treatment Planning, Prosthesis Options and Clinical Outcomes: Review Article

Author

Dr. Althaaf Khan


Abstract

 Background: Tooth loss and its functional, nutritional and psychosocial consequences remain a substantial global burden, and general dental practitioners increasingly deliver comprehensive prosthetic care that spans tooth-supported, implant-supported and removable options.

Objective: To review current evidence on comprehensive oral prosthetics performed by dentists, with emphasis on treatment planning, prosthesis selection, survival and complication rates, and patient-centred outcomes.

Methods: A narrative review was conducted in October 2026. Targeted searches identified systematic reviews, meta-analyses, consensus statements and institutional reports on tooth-supported fixed, implant-supported fixed, removable, overdenture, digitally fabricated and full-mouth rehabilitation prostheses. Findings were synthesised qualitatively.

Results: Conventional tooth-supported fixed prostheses showed five-year survival of approximately 94%, with lower survival for cantilever and all-ceramic designs. Implant-supported fixed prostheses showed five-year survival of approximately 95% but a higher burden of technical complications. Mandibular implant-supported fixed prostheses on three implants showed implant and prosthetic survival above 95% over one to six years. Consensus statements recommend the two-implant mandibular overdenture as the minimum first-choice treatment for the edentulous mandible. Evidence for removable partial dentures is limited, and evidence for full-mouth rehabilitation philosophies is dominated by case reports. Digitally fabricated complete dentures performed similarly to or better than conventional dentures.

Conclusion: Predictable outcomes in comprehensive prosthetics depend on structured diagnosis, appropriate prosthesis selection, material and design choices, and planned maintenance. Higher-quality long-term and patient-reported outcome data are still needed, particularly for removable and full-mouth rehabilitation approaches.



Keywords

prosthodontics; full mouth rehabilitation; dental implants; fixed dental prosthesis; removable dentures; edentulism



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References


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