RADIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF MARGINAL BONE LOSS AT TOOTH SURFACES FACING SINGLE BRANEMARK IMPLANTS

A radiologic evaluation of marginal bone loss around single implants a d modum Branemark and their adjacent teeth was performed: 58 adults wi th 71 fixtures were followed up to 3 years after crown installation. T he following factors were considered: age, cause of tooth loss, vertic al relation between fixture and teeth, distance between adjacent teeth , distance between fixture and natural tooth, jaw region. Specified di stance were measured as well as marginal bone levels around fixtures a nd tooth surfaces in magnified standardized intraoral radiographs. The results show a loss of marginal bone support at tooth surfaces adjace nt to inserted implants during the interval between preoperative exami nation and crown installation that exceeds the loss during subsequent years. The largest bone loss was observed when implants were placed ne xt to lateral upper incisors. A strong correlation was found between b one loss at adjacent teeth and the horizontal distance fixture-tooth. With decreasing distance the bone loss increased, especially in the up per incisor region. At present it seems difficult to predict which ind ividual or individual condition may have a higher risk for bone loss, due to large intra- and interindividual variation.