Short Implants (5 to 8 mm) Versus Longer Implants (>8 mm) with Sinus Lifting in Atrophic Posterior Maxilla: A Meta-Analysis of RCTs.
OBJECTIVE
The specific purposes of this study were (1) to undertake a thorough systematic review and meta-analysis based only on randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to compare the rates of survival and complications of short implants to those of long implants; (2) to compare the surgical time and cost of short implants to those of long implants.


METHODS
RCTs were identified from the major electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library) using the keywords "dental implant," "short implant" and "atrophic maxilla," and a quantitative meta-analysis was conducted. The survival rate of implants and complications were the primary outcome measures, and other parameters assessed included costs and surgical time.


RESULTS
Seven RCTs that met the inclusion criteria included 554 implants (265 implants in the short implant group). There was no significant difference in survival rate between two groups (RR: 1.00; 95% CI: [0.97, 1.03]; p = .96; seven trials, 554 participants). Compared with long implant group, the short implant group had a lower complications and the effect measure was significant (RR: 0.58; 95% CI: [0.37, 0.90]; p = .02; seven trials, 554 participants).


CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review showed that no difference between the survival rates of short implants (5-8 mm) and long implants (>8 mm); complications in short implants are lower than that in long implants. However, further studies are required to substantiate our findings.
The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Tengfei
T
Fan
The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Yicun
Y
Li
The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Wei-Wei
WW
Deng
The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Tianfu
T
Wu
The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology & Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.|Department of Oral Maxillofacial-Head Neck Oncology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Wenfeng
W
Zhang
D000368:Aged; D015921:Dental Implants; D017267:Dental Prosthesis Design; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000601:surgery; D008437:Maxilla / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D059546:Sinus Floor Augmentation / Q000379:methods*
D015921:Dental Implants
atrophic maxilla; dental implant; meta-analysis; short implant