IMMEDIATE LOADING OF BILATERALLY SPLINTED TITANIUM ROOT-FORM IMPLANTSIN FIXED PROSTHODONTICS - A TECHNIQUE REEXAMINED - 2 CASE-REPORTS

A load-free healing period has been advocated as a prerequisite to ach ieving osseointegration. This article reports two cases in which immed iate loading of a specially designated additional, or ''expendable,'' set of titanium roof-form implants was successfully utilized to suppor t provisional fixed restorations in the maxilla and the mandible. This immediate-loading protocol is suggested as a reliable adjunctive ther apeutic modality for offering implant patients access to fixed interim restorations during the healing phase of the primary fixtures. Anothe r advantage of this approach is that if provides protection from poten tial transmucosal overload of the primary implants as well as any site s undergoing osseous regenerative procedures.