CaPO4 blasted implants inserted into iliac crest homologue frozen grafts

In the last decade, some investigations have reported that the resorbable blast media surface (also named CaPO4 blasted implants [CaPO4-Bls]) has achieved excellent results. However, no report regarding CaPO4-Bls inserted into fresh frozen bone (FFB) is available. Thus, we planned a retrospective study on a series of CaPO4-Bls inserted into FFB to evaluate their clinical outcome. In the period between December 2003 and December 2006, 16 patients (10 females and 6 males, median age of 55 years) were operated on, and 76 CaPO4-Bls were inserted. The mean implant follow-up was 23 months. Implant diameter and length ranged from 3.25 to 4.5 mm and from 11.5 to 15 mm, respectively. Implants were inserted to replace 7 incisors, 11 cuspids, 31 premolars, and 27 molars. Only 1 out of 76 implants was lost (i.e., survival rate [SVR] = 98.7%), and no differences were detected among the studied variables. When peri-implant crestal bone resorption was used as an indicator of clinical success (i.e., success rate), it was possible to identify some variables that correlated with a better clinical outcome. Specifically, Cox regression showed that removable prosthetic restoration and longer implant length correlated with a statistically significant lower delta implant abutment junction (IAJ; i.e., reduced crestal bone loss) and thus a better clinical outcome. In this study, CaPO4-Bls had high survival and success rates, similar to those reported in previous reports of 2-stage procedures in nongrafted bone. CaPO4-Bls inserted into FFB are reliable devices, although greater marginal bone loss occurs when fixed prosthetic restorations and short implants are used.