A 3 to 4 year study of single tooth hydroxylapatite coated endosseous dental implants

Objective To evaluate the clinical effectiveness, common complications and maintenance associated with hydroxylapatite (HA) coated cylindrical implant s when used to support single crowns. Design A prospective medium term clinical study of the Calcitek HA-coated i mplant. Setting Implant placement, crown fabrication and follow-up procedures were carried out at the Leeds Dental Institute, between 1990 and 1998. Subjects and method 26 patients (33 implants) participated in the trial. Th ey were referred from general dental practitioners because of their suitabi lity for single tooth implant placement. Main outcome measures The implants were assessed using recognised clinical review procedures eg radiographs and soft tissue assessments. Results At exposure there was 100% implant integration. The cumulative surv ival rate over 4 years was 100%. In five implants there was cervical bone l oss of more than 4 mm and these were classified as failing. This gave an ov erall cumulative success rate of 58% by year 4. Conclusion The Calcitek HA-coated single tooth implant shows exceptionally high initial integration however, the longer term results suggest that the cervical bone level adjacent to the implant failed to establish a steady st ate. Doubts remain regarding the long-term prognosis of these cylindrical H A-coated implants.