Immediate occlusal loading and tilted implants for the rehabilitation of the atrophic edentulous maxilla: 1-year interim results of a multicenter prospective study.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this prospective study were to assess the treatment outcome of immediately loaded full-arch fixed bridges anchored to both tilted and axially placed implants for the rehabilitation of fully edentulous maxillae and to compare the outcome of axial vs. tilted implants.


METHODS
Forty-one patients with edentulous maxillae were included in the study. Each patient received a full-arch fixed bridge supported by four axial implants and two distal tilted implants. Loading was applied within 48 h from surgery. Patients were scheduled for follow-up at 6 months, 1 year and annually up to 5 years. Radiographic evaluation of marginal bone-level change was performed at 1 year.


RESULTS
One patient died 4 months after surgery. Thirty patients were followed for a minimum of 1 year (range 3-42 months, mean 22.1 months). Three failures were recorded at 1-year follow-up (two axial implants and one tilted). Two more implants (one tilted and one axially placed) were lost within 18 months of loading. The 1-year implant survival rate was 98.8% for both axial and tilted implants. Prosthesis success rate was 100% at 1 year. Marginal bone loss around axial and tilted implants at 12-month evaluation was similar, being, respectively, 0.9+/-0.4 (standard deviation) mm and 0.8+/-0.5 mm.


CONCLUSIONS
The present preliminary data suggest that immediate loading associated with tilted implants could be considered to be a viable treatment modality for the atrophic maxilla and that there does not seem to be a different clinical outcome between tilted and axial implants.
Testori
Tiziano
T
Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi IRCCS, Department of Odontology, Milan University, Milan, Italy.
Del Fabbro
Massimo
M
Capelli
Matteo
M
Zuffetti
Francesco
F
Francetti
Luca
L
Weinstein
Roberto L
RL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D015921:Dental Implants; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D017268:Dental Prosthesis Retention / Q000295:instrumentation; D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D003825:Denture, Complete, Immediate; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D015921:Dental Implants