Outcomes of Dental Implants in Routine Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Multicenter Study.

Abstract

Purpose: This study evaluated the clinical and radiographic outcomes of subjects rehabilitated with dental implants placed in daily practice. Materials and Methods: This retrospective multicentric case series study involved 339 patients (168 males, 171 females, mean age 54.0 ± 14.7 (standard deviation) years, range 28-81 years) treated in five private clinics, who received 651 implants between January 2019 and January 2023. The main outcomes were marginal bone loss (MBL) and implant survival rate. The effect of variables such as soft tissue status, crestal/subcrestal implant placement, immediate/delayed implantation, bone grafting/no graft, screwed, or cemented prosthesis were analyzed. Results: The implant survival rate was 99.9%, with only one implant failure observed in a 71-year-old female with subcrestal placement. Implants immediately placed in post-extraction sites had significantly greater MBL compared to delayed placements (p=0.0002). Subcrestally positioned implants showed significantly less MBL than crestal implants (p < 0.0001), while grafted and non-grafted sites showed similar results, and cemented prostheses demonstrated lower MBL compared to screwed prostheses (p < 0.0001). The prevalence of peri-implant mucositis was only 3.6% on implant basis. No intra-operative complications nor adverse events in the follow-up period were reported. Conclusion: Following current guidelines for implant therapy, consisting of proper diagnosis and personalised treatment plan and maintenance, and adhering to implant system manufacturer's recommendations, it is possible to achieve satisfactory clinical and radiographic outcomes in routine practice.