Survival Rates of Implants Placed by Undergraduate Students: A Retrospective Study

Edentulism (partial or complete) is considered a major indicator of the oral health of a population. In partially edentulous patients the alveolar bone, adjacent teeth, and supporting structures influence the choice of prosthetic restoration. Dental implants are becoming a very viable option for rehabilitation. While many studies report the success of rehabilitations using implants, there is limited literature regarding survival of implants in the concerned district taken for study. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the survival rates of implants and prosthesis placed by undergraduate students in a dental hospital. The study was a University/Hospital based retrospective study, and included patients visiting the dental hospital. Out of 86,000 patients who visited Saveetha Dental College, a total of 79 patients were included in the study as per the inclusion criteria of patients who had undergone implant therapy done by undergraduate students. Age, gender, presence of inflammation, infection, bone loss, and mobility were evaluated and tabulated in MS Excel. The data collected was imported to IBM SPSS for analysis and results were obtained. A majority of patients (92.4%) were found to have optimum survival rate of implants placed. No significant association was found between implant survival and age (p > 0.05) and gender (p > 0.05). Within the limits of the study, it was found that implants have a high survival rate but survival is not influenced by age and gender.