Purpose: A new tissue-level implant design with angulations of 17, 30, and 45 degrees has been introduced to allow the use of the existing bone while maintaining the restorative platform at an angle to ensure an optimal functional and esthetic result for treatment of edentulous patients. The aim of this study was to measure implant survival, bone loss, and peri-implant health of the novel tissue-level angled-head dental implant system.
Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of cases from three private offices that were using the new implant system was performed. Data regarding patients' demographics, number and location of implants, restoration type, bone loss, implant failure, bleeding, and pocket depths were collected and analyzed. The data collected were analyzed using mainly descriptive statistics.
Results: A total of 29 participants were selected, and 185 dental implants were placed. The average patient age was 61 ± 7 years, and 52% were female. Some of the patients were medically compromised; 7% were diabetic, 20% were smokers, and 7% had osteoporosis. The average time from dental implant placement to the placement of the screw-retained crowns was 6 ± 5 months. Four implants failed with an average time to failure of 18 ± 8 months. Implant survival rate was 97.8%. The average bone loss was 0.014 ± 0.082 mm at 1 year, 0.133 ± 0.306 mm at 5 years, and 0.426 ± 0.903 mm at 10 years. Overall, 18.9% of implants were associated with bleeding, and only one implant had a pocket depth greater than or equal to 5 mm.
Conclusion: The new tissue-level implant design with angulations of 17, 30, and 45 degrees has demonstrated predictable survival and success rates with minimal bone loss. The long-term follow-up seems highly promising; however, further studies are warranted to validate the results.
Keywords: alveolar bone, bone loss, peri-implantitis, success, survival
