Maxillary implants loaded at 3 months after insertion: results with Astra Tech implants after up to 5 years.

BACKGROUND

To date, clinical studies have mainly focused on early loading of mandibular implants. Recently, there has also been considerable interest in early loading of maxillary implants.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to report the outcome of maxillary implants loaded after a 3-month healing period and followed up to 5 years.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Seventeen patients (11 males and 6 females) received 44 Astra Tech implants (Mölndal, Sweden) for treatment of single-tooth (13 cases) and partial edentulism (9 cases). The patients were followed up to 5 years after implant placement: 50% of the implants were followed for 3 years and 16% have been followed throughout the observation period. Preoperatively, bone height and width were assessed on radiographs. Marginal bone loss was recorded on intraoral radiographs annually.

RESULTS

No implant was lost during the observation period. The average marginal bone loss was 0.5 +/- 0.7 mm after 1 year, 0.6 +/- 0.7 mm after 3 years, and 0.9 +/- 1.6 mm after 5 years. There were no soft-tissue or prosthetic failures recorded during the observation period.

CONCLUSION

Early loading of Astra Tech implants was highly successful in maxillary partial and single-tooth cases followed up to 5 years in function.