A retrospective cohort study of 105 patients rehabilitated with immediately loaded mandibular cross-arch bridges in combination with immediate implant placement

Purpose: To evaluate the outcome of immediately loaded cross-arch bridges 4 months after loading. A second aim was to compare survival rates of implants placed in healed versus fresh extraction sites. Materials and methods: In total, 105 consecutive patients about to have their mandibles rendered fully edentulous (mean extractions per patient: 6.1 teeth) received four to six implants each (total number = 448), which were immediately placed in healed sites (266 implants, 59%) or fresh sockets (182 implants: 41%). Immediate loading of provisional prostheses was performed and all patients were followed-up for 4 months. The success criteria included prosthesis success, assessment of individual implant stability and complications. Results: No patient dropped out and all 105 patients received definitive fixed prostheses after four months of loading. The overall implant survival rate after four months was 98.2%. Eight implants were lost in eight patients (8%). Four of them were inserted in fresh extraction sockets (2.2%) and four in healed sites (1.5%). No significant difference (P = 0.4990) was found for implants placed into healed sites versus fresh extraction sites. No complications were reported. Conclusions: Immediate implant placement and loading resulted in high implant as well as prosthetic survival rates. Placement in healed or fresh extraction bone sites did not influence implant survival. Keywords: cross-arch bridge, full rehabilitation, immediate implant placement, immediate loading, mandibular edentulous patients, provisional screw-retained prostheses