Marginal bone loss around implants placed in maxillary native bone or grafted sinuses: a retrospective cohort study

Area of Science:

• Dental Implantology
• Periodontology
• Oral Surgery

Background:

• Maxillary sinus augmentation is a common procedure to enable dental implant placement in atrophic posterior maxillae.
• Understanding long-term marginal bone loss around implants in grafted versus pristine bone is crucial for treatment success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare marginal bone loss around dental implants placed in maxillary pristine bone versus those placed after maxillary sinus augmentation.
• To evaluate the influence of various factors on bone loss over a 3-year period post-functional loading.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 105 subjects with two groups: sinus augmentation with simultaneous implant placement and conventional implant placement in pristine bone.
• Radiographic marginal bone loss measured on panoramic radiographs at baseline and 12, 24, and 36 months post-loading.
• Analysis of influencing factors including age, gender, smoking, periodontal disease history, and prosthetic connection type.

Main Results:

• Implants in grafted bone showed significantly more marginal bone loss than in pristine bone at 12 months, but the progression rate did not differ subsequently.
• Cumulative bone loss ranged up to 3.9 mm after 36 months.
• External prosthetic connections, smoking, and history of periodontitis were associated with increased peri-implant bone loss, irrespective of bone substrate.

Conclusions:

• Implants in augmented maxillary sinus sites experienced greater marginal bone loss compared to pristine bone sites, predominantly within the first year.
• External implant connections demonstrated a strong association with increased marginal bone loss over time.