Trends in techniques to avoid bone augmentation surgery: Application of short implants, narrow-diameter implants and...

Area of Science:

• Oral Implantology
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
• Digital Dentistry

Background:

• Minimally invasive implantology, including reduced implant dimensions and virtual treatment planning with CAD/CAM stereolithographic templates, is gaining popularity.
• These graftless therapeutic options aim to reduce patient morbidity associated with traditional bone graft surgeries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze current clinical utilization trends of graftless therapeutic options in dental implantology.
• To investigate the application trends of short implants, narrow-diameter implants, and template-guided surgery.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 12,865 dental implants placed in 5,365 patients.
• Categorization of implants by length (short: <10 mm), diameter (narrow: <3.75 mm), and surgical guidance (template-guided).
• Application trends were analyzed using linear regression, comparing jaw location and dentition subgroups.

Main Results:

• Significant increases in the use of short implants and guided surgery were observed across all patient subgroups.
• Narrow-diameter implants were most common in single-tooth gaps (24.1%), with upward trends in partially and completely edentulous patients.
• Short implants were more prevalent in the mandible (9.9% vs. 2.5%), while guided surgery was favored in the maxilla (14.2% vs. 5.4%).

Conclusions:

• Short implants, frequently used in partial edentulism, and guided implant surgery, common in complete edentulism, are emerging as promising surgical approaches.
• These techniques offer viable alternatives to bone grafting, potentially reducing patient morbidity.
• The study highlights increasing adoption of these advanced implantology techniques.