Immediate Loading of Single Implants: A 2-Year Prospective Multicenter Study

The aim of this prospective multicenter study was to evaluate the outcomes of single implants subjected to immediate functional loading. Inclusion criteria were single-tooth placement in postextraction sockets or fully healed sites, and sufficient bone height and width to place an implant of at least 3.5 × 10.0 mm. All implants were functionally loaded immediately after placement and followed for 2 years. Outcome measures were implant survival, complications, and periimplant marginal bone loss (MBL). A total of 57 implants (38 maxilla, 19 mandible) were placed in 46 patients (23 men, 23 women, aged 18-73 years). Of these, 10 implants were placed in postextraction sockets. One implant failed, in a healed site, giving a patient-based overall 2-year survival rate of 97.6%. The incidence of biologic complications was 1.8%; prosthetic complications amounted to 7.5%. The peri-implant MBL was 0.37 ± 0.22 mm (healed sites: 0.4 mm ± 0.22; postextraction sockets: 0.3 mm ± 0.22). The immediate functional loading of single implants seems to represent a safe and successful procedure. Long-term followup studies on a larger sample of patients are needed to confirm these results.