Survival rates and complication types for single implants provided at the Melbourne Dental School

Single implants and implant-supported single crowns (ISSCs) have become popular treatment modalities for single tooth replacement. Studies have identified high implant survival rates, but also many complications. The aim of this five-year retrospective study was to assess the survival rates, complication types and occurrences for single implants and ISSCs at the Melbourne Dental School (MDS) in Victoria, Australia.

A search of the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne (RDHM) database was conducted for data on all implant treatment and reported complications during the period between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2009. Complications were categorized into surgical, biological and restorative types.

A total of 622 implant fixtures and 444 ISSCs were inserted into 406 patients. Seventeen implants failed during the mean follow-up time of 2.18 years, yielding a 2.7% failure rate and an estimated one- and five-year survival rate of 98.8% and 93.9%, respectively. The cumulative surgical, biological and restorative complication incidences were 11.9%, 17.6% and 14.1%, respectively.

This study confirmed that single tooth replacement using implant therapy within a teaching environment had a high survival rate. However, complications frequently occurred. This article only provides a descriptive analysis. Correlation analysis between variables would provide greater insight into the causes of complications.