Ten-year results of a prospective study using porous-surfaced dental implants and a mandibular overdenture

Numerous investigators have used osseointegrated dental implants as retention for mandibular overdentures, but few have reported 10-year outcomes or incorporated carefully standardized radiographs to document crestal bone loss.

The purpose of this study was to use a prospective clinical trial design to assess the performance of short sintered porous-surfaced dental implants with a mandibular complete overdenture when all patients in the trial had undergone 10 years of continuous function.

Fifty-two fully edentulous patients, most with advanced alveolar ridge resorption, each received three free-standing Endopore implants (7-10 mm in length, mean length, 8.7 mm; Innova Corporation, Toronto, ON, Canada) in the mandibular symphysis region. After 10 weeks of submerged healing, these implants were used to support an overdenture. Carefully standardized radiographs, using a customized stainless steel filmholder attached to each implant and the x-ray tube, were collected at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, yearly to 5 years, and then again at 7and 10 years.

Life table analysis revealed a 10-year implant survival of 92.7% and a mean annual bone loss after year 1 of 0.03 mm.

Short free-standing dental implants with a sintered porous surface used for implant fixation are a predictable and effective means of retaining a mandibular overdenture in patients with advanced mandibular ridge resorption.