Four-year post-loading results of full-arch rehabilitation with immediate placement and immediate loading implants: A retrospective controlled study

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate implant survival rate and to measure peri-implant bone changes in full-arch rehabilitations with immediate placement and immediate loading implants with platform switching and Morse taper connection, in addition to platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and buccal bone augmentation, after 4 years of follow-up. Method and Materials: In this retrospective controlled study, patients who had been fully rehabilitated with immediate placement and immediate loading implants were evaluated 4 years post-loading. Implants with platform switching and Morse taper connections were used (In-Kone Universal System, Global D) and PRF and buccal bone augmentation were applied. The radiographic bone loss was calculated by subtracting the bone level at baseline (BLT0) from that at the 4-year follow-up (BLT4) in immediate and delayed implants. Measurements were made at the distal, mesial, vestibular, and oral sites of the implants and the deepest value was recorded. Implants placed in extraction sites and implants placed in healed sites were considered. A comparison between the groups was performed using the Mann-Whitney test. The implant survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: In total, 42 patients (28 females and 14 males; average age 55.8 years old, age range 45 to 77) were recruited to this study. A total of 334 implants were put in place (226 in the maxilla, 108 in the mandible). The implant survival rate was 97.8% for the maxilla and 98.1% for the mandible, 98.3% for immediate implants and 96.9% for delayed implants. No statistically significant differences (P > .05) in the mean radiographic bone loss (mBL) were observed when comparing the immediate and delayed implants and the anterior and posterior implants. Statistically significant differences were found in the mBL between the mandibular and maxilla implants in the vestibular (P = .01) and mesial (P = .001) sites. Conclusion: Within their limits, the present results suggest that rehabilitation with platform switching and taper connection implants, in addition to buccal bone augmentation and the use of PRF, can lead to predictable results. Keywords: bone loss, dental implant, dental implant-abutment connection, immediate dental implant loading, survival rate