OSSEOINTEGRATION OF ORAL IMPLANTS IN OLDER AND YOUNGER ADULTS

Osseointegration involves an osseous healing response that may be comp romised by aging. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that there i s no difference between older and younger adults in osseointegration s uccess. A comparison was made between closely matched groups of 39 old er adults who had 190 implants supporting 45 oral prostheses and 43 yo unger adults who had 184 implants supporting 45 oral prostheses. Patie nts were monitored for a period of 4 to 16 years after prosthetic load ing. At the most recent follow-up, the cumulative implant success was 92.0% for the older group compared to 86.5% for the younger group. No statistical significance could be attributed to the difference in impl ant survival between the groups throughout the study period. Furthermo re, the most common outcome for individual prosthetic sites was 100% i mplant success, and the original prosthetic design was maintained for as long as each patient was monitored in ii of 45 prosthetic prescript ions for the older patients, and in 39 of 45 prescriptions for the you nger patients.