Evaluation of implant survival by analysing dental panoramic radiographs: 10-year retrospective study

Abstract

Background/Aim: Panoramic radiographs have been used widely for pre-implant evaluation and the preparation of treatment protocols. Panoramic radiography is often the first choice method for the implant placements because it gives information on the overall shape of the jaws, the position of the maxillary sinus floor and the nasal cavity floor, and vertical position of the mandibular canal and the mental foramen in relation to dental implants. The specific aim of the present study was to evaluate 10-year survival rate of dental implants by analysis of dental panoramic radiographs. Material and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 507 panoramic radiographs of 156 implant patients. Initial oral health status, proceedings of Restorative/Endodontic treatments before implant placement, missing number of teeth and edentulism types, finalization of implant related prosthetic treatments during controls, implant quality scorings at baseline/ controls and implant fails were analyzed. Results: The study results reveal statistically significant difference between the performed R/E treatment rates, according to the need for R/E treatments (p= 0.008). During the initial radiograph 96.1% of the implants were successful and 3.9% had satisfactory survival. At last control 86% of the implants were successful, 10.3% had satisfactory survival, 1% had impairment in survival and 2.8% were unsuccessful. The change in the last control compared to the initial radiograph is statistically significant (p= 0.000) regarding satisfactory survival. Conclusions: Long-term implant survival is not significantly affected by gender, age, type of edentulism, the presence of periodontal disease, R/E treatment needs, implant location, prosthesis type, and the presence of multiple implants.