Prosthetically guided oral implant surgery. A retrospective cohort study evaluating the 5-year surgical outcome

This study primarily evaluated the 5-year implant survival and success rate of prosthetically guided inserted implants. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of clinical variables on the development of mucositis, peri-implant bone resorption, peri-implantitis, as well as early and late implant failure.

An observational retrospective single-centre study was conducted on patients who were treated with dental implants in the department of oral and plastic maxillofacial surgery of the military hospital of Ulm University between 2008 and 2010. In all patients, computer-assisted 3D planning after wax-up of the prosthetic restoration and template-guided surgery with titanium implants were performed. Bone augmentation procedures were performed primarily if needed. Intraoperative and postoperative complications as well as technical and mechanical complications after prosthesis loading were evaluated. In a 5-year clinical and radiological follow-up, implant success and implant survival were assessed using descriptive statistics. A multivariable regression analysis evaluated the potential impact of augmentation procedures, wound healing complications, smoking, history of periodontitis, and preoperative API (approximal plaque index) and SBI (sulcus bleeding index) values on peri-implant mucositis, peri-implant bone resorption, peri-implantitis, as well as early and late implant failure.

In this study, 466 implants in 283 patients were considered for inclusion, and sufficient data were obtained for analysis from 368 (78.9%) implants in 229 (80.9%) patients. An overall implant survival rate of 98.1% (n=361/368) at the 5-year follow-up was revealed. According to the success criteria of the study, the 5-year success rate was 97.04% (n=263/271). An early implant failure of 1.07% (n=5/466) was recorded. 48.2% of the implants were affected by peri-implant mucositis (n=122/253), while peri-implant bone resorption was detected in 21.7% of the radiologically examined implants (n=59/271). Fifteen cases of peri-implantitis (5.5%) were detected. Peri-implant bone resorption increased significantly after bone augmentation procedures (p=0.028). Wound healing complications after implantation significantly increased the prevalence of late implant failure in the maxilla (p<0.001). Peri-implant bone resorption and peri-implantitis were significantly more prevalent in smokers (p=0.022/p=0.043). Implants in patients with API>20% presented significantly higher rates of peri-implant mucositis (p=0.042). Wound healing complications after augmentation, history of periodontitis, and SBI>20% had no significant impact on the study parameters.

The study confirms the reliability of prosthetically guided implant surgery, showing a high implant survival and success rate in a 5-year follow-up. Intraoperative complications and technical or mechanical complications after prosthesis loading remain within acceptable clinical limits. The rate of peri-implant mucositis, peri-implant bone resorption, and peri-implantitis was within the current literature range. Optimizing periodontal health and reducing smoking would improve the outcome. Further studies need to clarify the clinical indications and investigate the long-term surgical outcome of this treatment concept.