Clinical and radiographic evaluation of early loaded narrow-diameter implants: 3 years follow-up

Objective: To evaluate the clinical reliability of narrow implants placed in a one-stage procedure and early loaded in the upper and lower incisor region. Material and methods: This is a prospective, single-arm, multicenter study in which patients with missing natural dentition in upper lateral and lower incisor positions were enrolled. Eligible implants (OsseoSpeed (TM) TX 3.0S, DENTSPLY Implants) were of three different lengths and of 3.0 mm in diameter. One-stage surgery was performed and healing abutment connection took place. Placement of the permanent single crown took place after a 6-10 weeks healing period. Clinical and radiographic checks were performed at implant placement, loading, and at the 6, 12, 24, and 36 months follow-up visits. Results: A total of 69 subjects with 97 implants have been included in this study. From surgery to 36 months follow-up, 5.6% of the implants showed bone loss of more than 1 mm, while no bone loss at all were observed for 57.3% of the implants. The mean marginal bone level change from surgery to the 6, 12, and 36 months follow-up visits was -0.27, -0.11, and -0.09 mm, respectively. The total survival rate after 3 years is 95.5%. Conclusions: The data presented show stable marginal bone levels as well as healthy soft tissue around OsseoSpeed (TM) TX 3.0S implants, after 3 years of function. An interesting finding from this investigation was that a longer healing period before crown placement and loading contributed to statistically significant less marginal bone loss between loading and the 1-year follow-up visit (Galindo-Moreno et al. 2012). This finding, associated with a stable probing pocket depth and a stable crown-gingiva distance, using a one-stage surgical procedure helps to maintain the integrity of the peri-implant soft tissues. Narrow implants can be considered as a valid solution in the treatment of the localized narrow bony defects in the anterior area with reduced spaces between the natural teeth.