Survival and Success Rates of Dental Implants Placed Using Osteotome Sinus Floor Elevation Without Added Bone Grafting: A Retrospective Study with a Follow-up of up to 10 Years

This retrospective study with a follow-up period of 4 months to 10 years evaluated survival, success, and complication rates of implants placed using osteotome sinus floor elevation (OSFE) without added bone grafting. A total of 926 implants were placed, including 530 short implants (6 mm to 8.5 mm) and 209 implants in low residual bone height (RBH) ( 5 mm). Bone levels were evaluated at approximately 3 months and at 1, 3, and 5 years, and in some cases up to 10 years after implants were placed. The implant survival rate was 98.3% at the 5-year follow-up. Twelve of the 926 implants failed (6 preprosthetic, 6 postprosthetic). The success rate was 95.4% at a threshold of less than 1 mm of bone loss for combined systems (Straumann; Nobel Biocare). Short implant survival and success rates were statistically comparable to conventional-length implants. Low-RBH implants had a lower but acceptable survival rate of 95.7%. Adverse events were rare, with one case of infection and zero cases of vertigo reported. The findings of this study indicate that implant placement with OSFE without added bone graft is highly successful, even when short implants are used in low RBH.