title: Short dental implants in reduced alveolar bone height: a review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of short dental implants in distally reduced alveolar bone height.
  
  
  METHODS
  MedLine (PubMed and Ovid), ISI Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane databases were used for analysis. Searching was conducted using the search equation: 'Dental Implants' [Majr] AND (Short[TIAB] OR Shorter[TIAB]) AND (Implant[TIAB] OR Implants[TIAB]). Abstracts were screened by 2 independent reviewers. The articles included in the analysis were published in the English language and reported data on the use of implants with lengths below 10 mm in the posterior region with reduced alveolar bone height making the placement of longer implants impossible without additional surgical interventions. Articles concerning data on orthodontic implants and post-resection surgery reconstruction were excluded from analysis. Any disagreements between the 2 reviewers were resolved by a third reviewer. No time frame was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 791 articles initially found, automatic rejection of duplicates in the Endnotes X5 software resulted in 538 articles. After the selection of studies from databases, a bibliography of 32 eligible articles was searched for other publications. Through this method, 2 more studies were added.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The analysis of the results of different studies on the use of short dental implants showed that this treatment could be effective and comparable to the use of standard-length implants. This study revealed that rough-surfaced implants with lengths between 6-10 mm placed in the posterior mandible are the preferred solution. However, more detailed data will require additional prospective studies.
authors.affiliation: Private Dental Practice, Aesthetic Dent, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tutak
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Smektała
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Edyta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gołębiewska
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sporniak-Tutak
mesh_terms: D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000473:pathology*; D015921:Dental Implants / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015921:Dental Implants