Patient Satisfaction and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Quadrilateral Bar versus Bilateral Linear Bar for Mandibular Implant Overdenture: Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective This study aimed to evaluate four implant complete mandibular overdentures retained with different bar designs regarding patient satisfaction and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Material and Methods Twenty participants were selected for this study. Each participant received four implants in the mandibular canine and first molar regions. All patients were divided into two equal groups based on their bar designs: quadrilateral (group I) and bilateral linear (group II). A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to quantify patient satisfaction, and OHRQoL was determined using the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Three months later, the VAS and OHIP-14 questions were evaluated. Statistical Analysis For properly distributed data, continuous variables were shown as mean ± standard deviation. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the two groups. The significance criterion is set at the 5% level. When p < 0.05, the results were deemed significant. Results Patient satisfaction differs significantly between the two groups, as the quadrilateral bar designs enhance denture support and retention (p = 0.034∗) and biting or chewing food (p = 0.019∗). However, bilateral linear bar designs improve denture comfort (p = 0.014∗) and hygiene practices (p = 0.007∗). There were no significant variations between the two attachment designs in the remaining items of VAS and OHIP-14 questions, except that the bilateral linear bar configuration demonstrated higher scores in functional limitation (p = 0.02∗). Conclusion The quadrilateral bar demonstrated greater patient satisfaction than the bilateral linear bar regarding denture stability/retention and biting or chewing food. However, the bilateral linear bars increase patient satisfaction with denture comfort and the ease of hygienic procedures. Furthermore, regarding the functional limitations of the OHIP-14 questions, the bilateral linear bar provides higher scores than the quadrilateral ones.