Survival of implants placed with the osteotome technique: an update

A literature review is made to analyze the survival of implants placed with the osteotome technique. A PubMed search was made based on the key words "osteotome AND dental implants", corresponding to publications between 1998-2008. The inclusion criteria were: a) a minimum of 10 patients; b) a minimum follow-up of 6 months; c) implants placed using the osteotome technique with or without indirect sinus lift; and d) specification of the implant number and survival rate. Sixty-four articles were identified, of which 20 met the inclusion criteria. A total of 2006 implants were placed in 1312 patients using the osteotome technique. The duration of follow-up after prosthetic loading ranged from 6-144 months. Indirect sinus lift was carried out in all but one of the studies. The residual crest height ranged from 2.8-12 mm, with a mean gain in bone after sinus lift of 2.5-5.1 mm. The time from implant placement to prosthetic loading varied from 1.5-9 months. The percentage implant survival rate was 85.1-100%. The survival rate of implants placed with the osteotome technique is high and does not differ with respect to implant placement with the conventional technique.