Clinical and Radiologic Experience with Moderately Rough Oxidized Titanium Implants: Up to 10 Years of Retrospective Follow-up

Purpose: The long-term success of machined-surface implants is well documented, whereas the reliability of the moderately rough oxidized implant surface has not been definitively assessed in the long term. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the long-term clinical and radiologic outcomes of moderately rough oxidized implants supporting fixed prostheses. Materials and Methods: Seventy-three consecutive patients needing an implant-supported restoration received 1 to 11 implants each (n = 167). All implants (82 cylindric and 85 tapered-body implants) had a self-tapping design and a moderately rough oxidized surface and were immediately loaded (n = 48) or loaded after a delay (n = 113). Patients were followed for up to 10 years. Outcomes were implant and prosthetic survival rates, peri-implant bone level changes, bleeding on probing, and plaque and gingival indices. Results: One patient (one implant) dropped out. Seventy-two patients (166 implants) were followed for at least 8 years (mean, 8.82 years; range, 8.0 to 10.4 years. No implants or prostheses were lost, resulting in a cumulative implant and prosthetic survival rate of 100% after up to 10 years in function. At the final follow-up, the accumulated mean marginal bone loss values were -1.72 ± 1.53 mm (n = 27) and -1.27 ± 1.67 mm (n = 44) for cylindric and tapered implants, respectively, with no statistically significant difference. Bleeding on probing was 12.1%. The cumulative plaque score was 19.7%; 83.8% of patients showed normal gingiva, 10.1% displayed mild inflammation, and 6.1% showed moderate inflammation. Conclusion: This retrospective study of 73 patients treated with either cylindric or tapered-body moderately rough oxidized implants and followed for up to 10 years demonstrated good treatment outcomes with regard to implant survival, marginal bone changes, and soft tissue conditions. Keywords: dental implants, immediate loading, long-term study, oxidization, postextraction sites, surface properties