Immediate loading of implants with mandibular overdentures: One-year clinical results of a prospective study

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this report is to present the implant and clinical outcomes of an immediate-loading protocol of TiUnite implants with mandibular overdentures in edentulous patients. Materials and Methods Two groups of edentulous patients were selected. Thirty-five consecutively treated patients received 70 immediately loaded TiUnite implants and 69 Branemark implants as backup (1 patient received 1 Branemark implant). The control group was a historical cohort that comprised 42 patients who received 111 Branemark implants. All overdentures were supported by a resilient bar mechanism. Implant and clinical outcomes, including maintenance events for the first year, were recorded. Results Implant success rates were in excess of 95% with both protocols. Immediately loaded implants had less bone loss than did implants loaded with the conventional protocol (Mann-Whitney U test; P=.001). Patients in the immediate-loading group required more prosthodontic maintenance, consisting of overdenture remakes and laboratory relining of prostheses (Chi-square test; P<.05). Of note, 74% of patients in the immediate-loading group needed a reline to improve the denture seal around the bar housing (Chi-square test; P<.05). Conclusion The favorable implant and bone level outcomes with immediate loading attest to its biologic success. The prosthetic maintenance encountered in the immediate-loading group does not negate the clinical potential of the treatment but rather suggests that the protocol may benefit from modifications.—Reprinted with permission of Quintessence Publishing. The aim of this report is to present the implant and clinical outcomes of an immediate-loading protocol of TiUnite implants with mandibular overdentures in edentulous patients. Two groups of edentulous patients were selected. Thirty-five consecutively treated patients received 70 immediately loaded TiUnite implants and 69 Branemark implants as backup (1 patient received 1 Branemark implant). The control group was a historical cohort that comprised 42 patients who received 111 Branemark implants. All overdentures were supported by a resilient bar mechanism. Implant and clinical outcomes, including maintenance events for the first year, were recorded. Implant success rates were in excess of 95% with both protocols. Immediately loaded implants had less bone loss than did implants loaded with the conventional protocol (Mann-Whitney U test; P=.001). Patients in the immediate-loading group required more prosthodontic maintenance, consisting of overdenture remakes and laboratory relining of prostheses (Chi-square test; P<.05). Of note, 74% of patients in the immediate-loading group needed a reline to improve the denture seal around the bar housing (Chi-square test; P<.05). The favorable implant and bone level outcomes with immediate loading attest to its biologic success. The prosthetic maintenance encountered in the immediate-loading group does not negate the clinical potential of the treatment but rather suggests that the protocol may benefit from modifications.—Reprinted with permission of Quintessence Publishing.