Short implants with oxidized surface in posterior areas of atrophic jaws: 3- to 5-year results of a multicenter study

The loss of one or more teeth has always been a reason for bone resorption and it can lead to a condition of "alveolar atrophy" that could make implant rehabilitation difficult.

The aim of this prospective study was to observe crestal bone loss and implant success of short implants with oxidized surfaces in patients with partially edentulous jaws after a 3- to 5-year follow-up.

Forty-six patients with single or partial edentulism were treated consecutively from 2006 to 2008 using 107 short implants with oxidized surfaces, which were restored with a single crown or a partial fixed denture. Clinical and radiographic examinations were scheduled after functional loading of implants according to a well-established protocol generally applied to determine implant success rates and crestal bone levels. Statistical analysis was used to determine significant differences or correlations between variables (p = .05).

After a 3- to 5-year follow-up, 44 patients with 102 implants were still followed up according to previously established study protocol, because two patients with five implants dropped out. Ninety-eight out of 102 implants are still functioning: four implants have been lost, with a survival rate of 96.1%. Moreover, a total of seven implants failed to meet the success criteria, resulting in a success rate of 93.1%. The mean bone loss was 0.9 ± 0.6 mm.

Many authors had recently demonstrated the predictability of short implants in different clinical conditions after a short-term follow-up. After 3 to 5 years of functional loading, short implants used to restore posterior teeth seems to be a viable solution in order to simplify and shorten the treatment of patients with partial edentulous jaws. Long-term follow-up is recommended to definitively establish the predictability and efficiency of this kind of implant-supported rehabilitation.