A retrospective evaluation of endosseous titanium implants in the partially edentulous patient

Abstract

Thirty-four partially edentulous patients were treated in this retrospective clinical study. All patients were treated with Brånemark implants and followed for a period of 6 to 49 months. The most frequent location for implant placement was the mandibular posterior region. The final prostheses included single tooth restorations, freestanding implant-supported fixed partial dentures, and implant-supported fixed partial dentures which were connected to natural teeth using a nonrigid connector. The success rates were 89.3 percent for the maxilla and 87.8 percent for the mandible. The majority of implant failures were associated with shorter fixtures (7 mm and 10 mm) and poor bone quality, and occurred prior to prosthetic reconstruction. No failures were observed with the single-tooth replacements. The mean marginal bone loss per fixture was 1.9 mm observed at an average of 2.7 years.