[First clinical experiences with ceramic ball attachments for overdentures]

In this prospective clinical study on 40 patients with similar clinical conditions (edentulous jaw with 2 interforaminal implants) commercially available ceramic ball attachments (ruby) were compared to commercial titanium ball attachments. The primary aim of the study was to measure the wear of the ball attachments after being 1 year in function. However, in the course of the study already after 7 to 12 months multiple failures with ceramic ball attachments occurred. Twelve (28%) of 43 ceramic ball attachments had to be replaced, mostly because of fractures (8) of the ceramic ball. It seems that ceramic ball attachments of the investigated design are not able to withstand normal intraoral stresses. The short-term susceptibility to fractures didn't allow to examine the ceramic-inherent features such as compressive strength and wear resistance. Furthermore, a secure connection between a titan base and a ceramic ball seems to be challenging. Based on these results, in implant-retained removable prosthesis the use of metal-based retainers is still recommended, although during maintenance a higher wear has to be expected. This wear can be compensated by either activating or changing the matrix or the patrix.