Perception by Osseointegrated Dental Implants Supporting a Fixed Prosthesis: A Prospective Study

Purpose: Osseointegrated implants have been shown to transmit a certain sensibility termed as osseoperception. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception by implants over a period of 6 months after loading in comparison to the natural dentition. Materials and Methods: Twenty subjects (ages 40 to 50 years) were included in this split-mouth clinical trial. The subjects were divided into two groups (n = 10) as follows: group 1-subjects with recently cemented implant-supported fixed prosthesis opposing natural teeth; group 2-subjects with recently cemented implant-supported fixed prosthesis in both arches. The implant-supported prostheses were considered as the test sites, whereas natural teeth on the contralateral side were considered as the control. Articulating papers of varied thickness were placed interocclusally in the posterior region in a predetermined random order of true and false insertions. The subjects' ability to perceive the presence/absence of the test papers was recorded for every insertion. The evaluation was performed immediately after cementation and at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months after cementation. The minimum interocclusal thickness detected by the subjects at the test and control sites at different time intervals was used for further analysis. Results: All subjects with implant-supported prostheses perceived a certain thickness of articulating paper. The minimum interocclusal thickness detected by the implant-supported prosthesis decreased postloading; however, the difference was not statistically significant (P > .008). At the end of the follow-up period, the minimum interocclusal thickness detected by the implants in group 1 was similar to the controls, whereas it was significantly higher than the controls in group 2 (P .05). Conclusion: There was progressive improvement in the perception by implant-supported prostheses during the follow-up period, and it was nearing the perception by natural teeth in subjects with implants opposing natural teeth. Keywords: active tactile perception, dental implants, minimum interocclusal thickness