Abstract
Despite the declining prevalence of complete toothlessness in the last ten years, mainly due to the current trend of population aging, the topic remains an almost global burning problem. Among the therapeutic options, in addition to conservative and by years proven rehabilitation with the help of a total removable prosthesis the spectrum of therapy has expanded on a basis of Brånemark's groundbreaking work published in 1977 to include implant supported solutions.
The use of implants is possible both to stabilize the total removable prosthesis, as part of a hybrid prosthesis, and as part of a fixed prosthetic work, which is carried exclusively by dental implants. Hybrid prostheses are an ideal solution for patients with more extensive atrophy, where it is necessary to aesthetically correct the filling of the lips and face, or where teeth in fixed prostheses should have considerably elongated clinical crowns.
The hybrid prostheses use a wide range of commercially available retention elements, which serve for fixation, retention and stabilization of the prosthesis, whereby the individual fixtures can be joined or they can stand separately. What exactly are our retention elements options for hybrid prostheses?