article · BMC Oral Health
Mandibular implant overdentures often rely on bar clip attachments, which can wear out over time. This research evaluated the mechanical retention and retention loss of digitally designed polyetheretherketone (PEEK) bar clips compared with conventional nylon clips. Using an epoxy model of an edentulous lower jaw with two implants, bar clips were digitally designed, 3D printed, and pressed in PEEK, then compared against standard nylon clips across simulated periods of one, two, and three years of patient usage. While the PEEK clips demonstrated significantly different retention initially, their retention decreased by approximately 58 per cent over the three-year simulation. In contrast, nylon clips retained their grip with a slight gain of three per cent. By the end of the three-year period, both materials exhibited comparable retention levels, demonstrating that digitally fabricated PEEK clips are an effective alternative for denture maintenance.
Implant-supported overdentures enhance the quality of life for people without natural teeth, but the clips holding them in place degrade with repeated daily use. Demonstrating that digitally designed PEEK clips perform comparably to standard nylon over three years provides dental professionals with an easily fabricated, cost-effective maintenance option to restore grip when traditional plastic attachments fail.
This applied research directly targets dental clinics and dental laboratories looking for efficient prosthetic maintenance methods. Because the PEEK clips are digitally designed, 3D printed, and directly picked up using standard acrylic resins, the process fits within existing digital dentistry workflows. As an applied laboratory study, the method is close to clinical adoption for replacing worn denture attachments, requiring validation under actual patient conditions.
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OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the retention and loss of retention after fatigue testing at different time intervals between two types of bar clip materials (digitally designed PEEK bar clip and regular Nylon bar clip). MATERIALS AND METHODS: An epoxy model was constructed for a completely edentulous mandible. Two implants were placed according to prosthetically driven implant placement by a computer-guided surgical stent. Bar clips were digitally designed, 3D printed, and pressed into Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK). Pick up of PEEK and nylon clips was performed on the dentures fitting surface using self-cured acrylic resin. Each study group was subjected to an insertion and removal fatigue test simulating 3 years of patient usage. Retention values were recorded using the universal testing machine at initial retention and after 1, 2, and 3 years of simulated usage. For proper sample sizing, 24 models and dentures (12 for each group) were used. An independent sample t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to compare the data. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in retention between the PEEK and nylon bar clips at the beginning of the experiment (p = 0.000*). But after 3 years of simulated use, there was no significant difference in retention between the test groups (p = 0.055, NS). After 3 years of simulated use, the retention of PEEK clips decreased by - 58.66% recording 17.37 ± 1.07 N, while the retention of nylon clip increased by + 2.99% recording 16.56 ± 0.88 N. CONCLUSION: The digitally designed PEEK clip showed comparable retention results to the nylon clip after 3 years of simulated use. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Maintenance of bar attachment with PEEK clip offers a clinical solution after the wear of normal plastic clips, which is a cheap solution that is easily fabricated and picked up into the denture. Digital fabricated PEEK bar retentive inserts can be used in cases of bar attachment wear.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12903-022-02262-7
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