Polyetheretherketone vs Cobalt-chromium Telescopic Removable Partial Denture in Kennedy Class I Patients Regarding Oral Health Related Quality of Life

On fabrication of telescopic removable partial denture, choosing the material is a major step in the success of the treatment. There are different aspects that should be taken into consideration while choosing it. Beginning with retention as it is a crucial aspect. The retention of the telescopic partial denture is gained from the friction between the primary and secondary crowns. The chosen material should be able to maintain this type of retention for the longest possible period. The esthetics also affects the treatment choice and patients preference, patients would choose metal free restorations over the ones that display metal. Finally the load distribution between the residual ridge and abutment should be equalized and transmitted in a favorable way. Otherwise one of the following consequences will occur; either overload on the abutment teeth followed by bone loss and abutment mobility or this overload is on the residual ridge leading to fast, progressive bone loss. Cobalt chromium that is used for fabricating the telescopic removable partial denture is considered that most suitable material up till this moment. However, it doesn't fulfill much of the previous points. As there will always be a continued improvement of materials and techniques used in dentistry especially in prosthodontics, innovative techniques must be regarded as potential alternatives to traditional materials. PEEK is from the innovative materials that has shown promising results in different branches. However, to date no clinical studies or systematic reviews focusing on the use of PEEK dentures have been published, therefore more investigations are needed in this field.