Purpose: The main objective of this study was to assess the influence of bone remodeling on late marginal bone loss in immediately loaded, implant-supported, complete-arch restorations and, secondarily, to determine its relationship to peri-implant disease occurrence using a multilevel analysis.
Materials and methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients treated consecutively in a private clinic with immediately loaded full-arch restorations with at least 12 months of follow-up was conducted. Bone remodeling and marginal bone loss were determined through measurements made on panoramic radiographs by two calibrated examiners. Peri-implant health status was diagnosed in a visit for peri-implant maintenance. Descriptive, bivariate, and multilevel analyses were performed with Stata/IC 15.1 software (StataCorp).
Results: A total of 30 patients (11 men and 19 women, mean age: 63.3 ± 10.4 years), with a mean follow-up of 37.7 ± 19.6 months were included. Forty arches (20 maxillary and 20 mandibular) received 207 implants. Bone remodeling had an inversely proportional effect on marginal bone loss (P =.005) but was not related to peri-implantitis (P =.103; hazard rate [HR] = 2.1).
Conclusion: Taking into account the limitations of this study, bone remodeling around immediately loaded dental implants supporting complete-arch restorations does not appear to increase marginal bone loss or peri-implantitis.
