A 3-Year Prospective Study of a Single-Tooth Implant--Prosthodontic Complications

Purpose: The objective of this 3-year prospective study was to evaluate a new titanium dental implant system and to identify any mechanical concerns or deficiencies in its design. Materials and Methods: One periodontist placed 78 single-tooth implants in 59 subjects. One restorative dentist using one dental laboratory fabricated all of the crowns. Each patient then was seen eight times by the authors for clinical, radiographic, and laboratory testing. Results: One of the 78 implants failed to integrate and was removed. There were no structural failures per se, although six of the cemented crowns and six of the restorative posts and cores (abutments) became loose. On a few occasions, the emergence profile was esthetically or functionally unsatisfactory. The manufacturer introduced changes in design and created an adjustable torque wrench, a torque-adjusting beam scale, and die replicas of the abutment posts in response to the identified concerns. Conclusion: The clinical trial helped in the development of an implant system that is user friendly, cost effective, and able to withstand parafunctional forces in the absence of antirotational features.