A 22-Year Follow Up of Immediate Implant Placement without Bone Augmentation: A Case Series Study

To retrospectively evaluate the treatment outcome of immediate implants placed in fresh extraction sockets without bone augmentation after 22 years of function.

The study group received implant therapy in 1997, including surgical placement and prosthodontic rehabilitation. The mean age of the subjects at the time of implant placement was 40 ± 5.54 years. A total of 35 subjects received 36 implants in fresh extraction sockets without bone augmentation. Definitive prostheses were placed 4 to 6 months after implant placement. Implant treatment outcomes were evaluated using clinical and radiographic parameters obtained during follow-up visits at 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 22 years after prosthetic loading.

Among the 35 treated subjects, five patients moved out of the country and could not be evaluated at the follow-up times. A total of 29 subjects were included in the study with a drop-out rate of 14.1%. Of these, one patient lost the implant during the osseointegration period before prosthodontic treatment. No other implant failure or complication during the rest of the follow-up period was reported, thus giving a cumulative survival rate of 97.2% during the 22-year follow-up. The change in marginal bone level was less than 2 mm in most subjects at the 22-year examination. The mean bone loss from baseline to 22-year follow-up was 1.61 mm, and the mean bone level at the 22-year follow-up examination was situated at 2.13 ± 0.023 mm from the implant platform, which was used as the reference point.

Immediate implant placement in extraction sockets exhibits excellent prognosis even when bone augmentation is not performed.