A Prospective Study of Early Loaded Single Implant-Retained Mandibular Overdentures: Preliminary One-Year Results

Abstract EN

Purpose.

To investigate the predictability of simplifying mandibular overdenture treatment using one-stage surgery and early prosthetic loading of a single implant.

Materials and Methods.

Twenty edentulous patients with problematic existing mandibular dentures were treated.

A single implant with a chemically modified surface (SLActive, Straumann AG, Basel, Switzerland) was placed into the mandibular midline.

The patients were recalled at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Clinical assessments and marginal bone loss using standardized radiographs were recorded.

All complications, failures and maintenance were noted.

Visual analog-scale questionnaires were used to record patient satisfaction in five categories.

ANOVA was used to determine differences between means of marginal bone loss and different categories of patient staisfaction (P=0.05).

Results.

The 20 early loaded implants were all surviving at the 12-month recall.

All implants showed less than 1 mm of marginal bone loss by the end of the 1-year with a significant increase during the follow-up period.

Few prosthetic problems were reported.

Patient satisfaction was high with a significant increase in all comfort and functional parameters.

Conclusions.

These preliminary 1-year results indicate that early loading of a single chemically modified surface implant used to retain a mucosa-borne mandibular overdenture is a safe, reliable, and cost-effective treatment.