Clinical outcomes of laser microtextured implants or abutments: A systematic review.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of laser microtextured collars or laser microtextured abutments on clinical measures that may relate to improved implant success and survival.

Materials and methods: This review was registered on the PROSPERO database and conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. MEDLINE (via PubMed) and Embase were screened for studies with at least 10 participants and followed up for at least 1 year, reporting on the following clinical outcomes: radiographic marginal bone level, peri-implant probing depth, soft tissue index and failure rates of implants with laser microtextured collars or laser microtextured abutments. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool or the Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

Results: After removal of duplicates, 86 articles were identified. A total of 25 articles were included after screening. Four were randomised controlled trials, two were non-randomised controlled trials, two were prospective studies, five were retrospective cohort studies and twelve had no control group. Most comparative studies reported that laser microtextured collar implants had less marginal bone loss and shallower peri-implant probing depth than machined collar implants. Only two studies had controls other than machined collar implants; in these, the use of laser microtextured collar implants was not observed to be significantly different. Three studies reported reduced marginal recession in laser microtextured collar implants when compared to machined collar controls. No difference in failure rate was observed between laser microtextured collar and machined collar implants. One study reported on peri-implant diseases and favoured laser microtextured collar implants. Three papers reported using laser microtextured abutments with no control, but no specific conclusions could be drawn.

Conclusions: Laser microtextured collar implants appear to reduce marginal bone loss and peri-implant probing depth when compared to machined collar implants. There is weak evidence to suggest that laser microtextured collar implants may also improve aesthetic outcomes and reduce incidence of disease. Research is required regarding laser microtextured abutments, and studies comparing laser microtexturing with alternative solutions are also lacking.