A study published in Clinical Oral Implants Research evaluated patients who had received fixed dental prostheses supported by narrow-diameter implants (NDIs) in the posterior jaws. This study was designed as a retrospective cohort study with a mean follow-up time of 10.1 years (SD: 2.5 years).
Patients receiving NDIs in the posterior jaw were reviewed for implant survival, hardware complication, modified plaque index, peri-implant probing depth, percentage of bleeding on probing (BOP%), marginal bone loss (MBL), and patient satisfaction.
Log-rank test and t test were used to detect the influence of implant location and restoration type. The study found that 67 patients with 98 NDIs were included (premolar site: 81, molar site: 17, single crowns: 33, splinted restorations: 65).
The overall implant survival rates were 96.9% at implant level and 97.0% at patient level. Veneer chipping was the most common hardware complication. The veneer chipping rates were 19.4% at patient level and 18.4% at implant level.
All patients showed acceptable oral hygiene. Thus, the average MBL was 1.19 mm at implant level and 1.15 mm at patient level. Eight implants (8.5%) and 6 patients (9.2%) were diagnosed with peri-implantitis. Fifty-eight patients (89.2%) were satisfied with the aesthetics of the restorations, while 55 patients (84.6%) were satisfied with the function of the restorations.
The study concluded that narrow diameter implants could be a predictable treatment option in the long term. High survival rates, high patient satisfaction, acceptable complication rates, and MBL could be achieved.
Further long-term studies are needed to evaluate the predictability of NDIs in molar sites.
(Source: Clinical Oral Implants Research, August 28, 2017)
