Stability Determination of One-Piece Ceramic Implants Using the Periotest Device: Follow-up Study of Up to 12 Months.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Periotest device could be used to reliably and reproducibly determine the prosthetic readiness of one-piece ceramic implants. Periotest values were measured on one-piece ceramic implants from two manufacturers, CeraRoot and Straumann PURE. Measurements were taken at the time of placement and up to 9 months after placement. The survival of the implants was assessed up to 12 months following placement. Data were modeled on R software utilizing the Cox Proportional Hazards model and Generalized Additive Model (GAM) regression. In all, stability testing was performed on 320 placed implants in 202 patients. The overall implant survival rate after 12 months of follow-up was 96.9%. The mean Periotest value (PTV) at the time of placement was -2.0 for the surviving implants, while it was only +0.6 for the failed implants. The PTV showed a gradual and steady increase leading up to 12 to 16 weeks. The mean PTV recorded at 12 weeks was -3.2. The Periotest device provided accurate and reproducible stability measurements following the prescribed protocol, thus helping to determine readiness for prosthetic loading. Within the limitation of this study, the preliminary findings suggest that the Periotest is an objective tool for stability assessment of one-piece ceramic implants. Further follow-up is needed to evaluate whether the Periotest can be suggested as a monitoring device of stability after the prosthetic phase of the implants is completed.