Paul A. Schnitman et al

This investigation was initiated to develop a method to provide patients with a fixed provisional prosthesis placed at the time of implant placement. Sixty-three standard 3.75 mm Nobel Biocare implants of varying lengths were placed into mandibular sites in 10 patients and followed for up to 10 years. Twenty-eight implants were immediately loaded at implant placement, providing support for fixed provisional prostheses, while 35 adjacent implants were allowed to heal submerged and stress-free. Following a 3-month healing period, the submerged implants were exposed and definitive reconstruction was accomplished.

All 10 prostheses supported by 28 implants placed into immediate function at the time of implant placement were successful during the 3-month healing period. Of these 28 implants placed into immediate function, 4 ultimately failed. Of the 35 submerged implants, all are osseointegrated and in function to date. Life-table analysis demonstrates an overall 10-year survival rate of 93.4% for all implants. Statistical analysis of the submerged versus immediately loaded implants demonstrates failure rates for immediately loaded implants to be significantly higher (P = .022 by the log rank test). These data term to support fixed provisional prostheses, long-term prognosis is guarded for those implants placed into immediate function distal to the incisor region.

Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 1997;12:495-503