Immediate functional loading of Branemark single tooth implants - An 18 months' clinical pilot follow-up study

A clinical and radiographical study was performed to evaluate the treatment outcome of single tooth replacements with artificial crowns retained to im plants installed according to a 1-stage surgical procedure and immediate lo ading (Experimental Group=EG) in comparison to the original 2-stage concept (Control Group=CG). The EG comprised 14 patients (=14 implants) and the CG comprised 8 patients (= 8 implants), all with single tooth losses anterior to the molars. Beyond the non-smoking criterion the following criteria wer e adopted: i) the amount of bone had to allow for installation of a fixture with a minimum length of 13 mm and diameter = 3.75 mm, ii) the jaw relatio nship had to allow for bilateral occlusal stability, iii) the patients shou ld be judged to be non-bruxers, and iv) the patients had to be available fo r the follow-up and maintenance programme. In the EG a temporary crown was connected to the implant within 24 h following fixture installation. Six mo nths later this crown was replaced with a permanent one. In the CG the surg ical and prosthetic treatment followed the standard protocol. Out of the 14 fixtures in the EG 2 were lost up to 5 months in function and were subsequ ently removed. All remaining 12 implants were stable at every subsequent fo llow-up examination. No fixture losses were recorded in the CG and all impl ants in this group were stable at the follow-ups. At the 6-month observatio n interval all the participating 20 patients were radiographically examined , an examination that was repeated at the 18-month follow-up. The analysis of the radiographs from the EG as well as from the CG disclosed that during the Ii-month observation period the mean change of bone support was about 0.1 mm. Further studies, designed as controlled multicenter ones, have to b e performed before the results of this pilot study can be recommended for m ore general use.