European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry

A Systematic Review of Mechanical Properties of Polymeric Attachments used for Retain Overdentures: A Comparison Between Traditional and Newly Models

Email a link to this journal

Cover Date

September 2025

Print ISSN

0965-7452

Electronic ISSN

2396-889

Vol

33

Issue

3

Abstract

Purpose: The main problem related to conventional attachments for overdentures is the loss of retention. The purpose of this review was to analyze the mechanical properties of different polymeric attachments presented in the literature to consider their clinical use viability. Materials and Methods: This work was registered in Open Science Framework (osf.io/7j9vz) and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis (PRISMA). A search of two independent reviewers of articles was performed on Embase, Pubmed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases. Results: The databases found a total of 1803 references and 1226 articles titles. A total of 21 articles were included in this scoping review. The polymers used for manufacturing attachments were polyacetal, polylactic acid, poly(ether-ether-ketone), polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, and poly(ethylene terephthalate). Conclusion: Polyamide Locators demonstrated highest initial and final retention, indicating superior long-term stability. Among emerging materials, polyacetal and polylactic acid attachments also showed excellent retention, supporting clinical applicability.

Keywords
Attachments
Mechanical Properties
Polymers
Overdentures