Implant-retained RPDs are a reliable intermediate solution that can reduce biological and economic costs while maintaining implant treatment benefits and the ease of RPD procedures.

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Bioactive glasses (BGs) are currently employed in a wide range of medical and dentistry applications by virtue of their bone-bonding ability. The incorporation of BGs into a collagen matrix may be used to combine the regenerative potential of these materials with the specific biological advantages of collagen. However, most of the collagen/BG composites reported in the literature are scaffolds and there is a lack of moldable putties or injectable systems. Here, granules of an innovative BG containing strontium and magnesium were mixed with collagen and PEG to obtain a putty (BGMS/C) suitable for dental applications. For the sake of comparison, granules of 45S5 Bioglass®, the gold standard among BGs, were used to prepare a 45S5/collagen putty. Both the composites were evaluated in vitro with respect to murine fibroblasts. The materials showed an excellent biocompatibility, making them interesting for possible applications in dentistry and reconstructive surgery. Moreover, BGMS/C seems to stimulate cell proliferation.

An original measuring protocol was developed, independent of parts assembly and based on ITs. An objective dimensional characterization of prosthetic components and assemblies has been achieved, which is the basis for their reliability in clinical applications.

Lack of standard criteria in the outcome assessment makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the clinical performance of short implants and, under these circumstances, determine the reasons for implant failure. This study evaluated, through a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis, the essential parameters required to assess the long-term clinical performance of short and extra-short implants. Electronic databases (Pubmed-MEDLINE, Cochrane Library Database, Embase, and Lilacs) were searched by two independent reviewers, without language limitation, to identify eligible papers. References from the selected articles were also reviewed. The review included clinical trials involving short dental implants placed in humans, published between January 2000 and March 2014, which described the parameters applied for outcome's measurements and provided data on survival rates. Thirteen methodologically acceptable studies were selected and 24 parameters were identified. The most frequent parameters assessed were the marginal bone loss and the cumulative implant survival rate, followed by implant failure rate and biological complications such as bleeding on probing and probing pocket depths. Only cumulative implant survival rate data allows meta-analysis revealing a positive effect size (from 0.052 (fixed) to 0.042 (random)), which means that short implant appears to be a successful treatment option. Mechanical complications and crown-to-implant (C/I) ratio measurement were also commonly described, however, considering the available evidence; no strong conclusions could be drawn since different methods were used to assess each parameter. By means of this literature review, a standard evaluation scheme is proposed, being helpful to regiment further investigations and comparisons on future studies.

Impression materials are largely used to record the geometry of dental tissue. Hence, the assessment of their possible cytotoxicity is a necessary step in the evaluation of their biocompatibility. The present study is carried out to evaluate the cytotoxicity of a new elastomeric sterile and radiopaque impression material. Human gingival fibroblasts, cultured in vitro are exposed directly to Elite Implant in three different viscosities, heavy, medium, and light. At 3, 9, 24, 48, and 72 h, the cellular proliferation is evaluated. In parallel, human gingival fibroblasts are exposed indirectly by means of fluid extracts of Elite Implant. The cellular viability is evaluated by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, (MTT) assay (Sigma, St Louis, Mo). The gingival fibroblasts proliferation and viability are unaffected by the presence of Elite Implant. This new impression material may represent a safe medical device for clinical and surgical applications. In addition, this material is radiopaque and, thus, can be identified radiographically.

The need for clinically relevant in vitro tests of dental materials is widely recognized. Nearly all dental impression materials are introduced into the mouth just after mixing and allowed to set in contact with the oral tissues. Under these conditions, the materials may be toxic to cells or may sensitize the tissues. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the potential cytotoxicity of new preparations of elastomeric dental impression materials: A) four vinylpolysiloxanes: Elite H-D Putty and Elite H-D Light Body (Zhermack, Badia Polesine, Rovigo, Italy); Express Putty and Express Light Body (3M ESPE AG Seefeld, Germany) and B) two polyethers: Impregum Penta and Permadyne Penta L (3M ESPE AG Seefeld, Germany). The cytotoxicity of these impression materials were examined using two different cell lines: Balb/c 3T3 (permanent cell line) and human gingival fibroblasts (primary cell line) and their effects were studied by indirect and direct tests. The direct tests are performed by placing one sample of the impression materials in the centre of the Petri dishes at the time of the seeding of cells. The cell growth was evaluated at the 12th and 24th hours by cell number. The indirect tests were performed by incubating a square of 1 cm diameter impression material in 5 mL of medium at 37 °C for 24 hours (“eluates”). Subconfluent cultures are incubated with “eluates” for 24 hours. The MTT-formazan production is the method used for measuring the cell viability. The results indicate that: a) polyether materials are cytotoxic under both experimental conditions; b) among vinylpolysiloxanes, only Express Light Body (3M ESPE AG Seefeld, Germany) induces clear inhibition of cellular viability of Balb/c 3T3 evaluated by direct and indirect tests and c) the primary cell line is less sensitive to the toxic effect than the permanent cell line.

Summary Background Spherical shape and connecting bypass screw of the OT Equator abutment (Rhein83, Italy) provides several retentive possibilities, even in non‐parallel implants. Objective This study assessed the long‐term survival of standard‐length and short implants receiving this multifunctional abutment. Methods Partially, edentulous patients (44 males and 64 females) (mean age 58.2 ± 10.5 years) rehabilitated with a fixed implant‐supported prosthesis where the OT Equator abutments (Rhein83) were applied. Follow‐up evaluations were performed up to 5 years following prosthesis delivery. Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis were used to determine whether the distribution of time to failure differed based on implant characteristics (length and region), adjusting for sex (α = 0.05). Results In total, 216 implants (5 × 8 mm, n = 126; 5 × 6 mm, n = 90) (Betwice, Mech & Human, Italy) were installed. The average follow‐up period was 25.3 months (±19.3 months). Eight failures occurred, with most observed before loading (n = 6). Cumulative survival rates (CSR) at implant and abutment levels were 94.3% and 97.1%, respectively. Regarding implant length, CSRs were 97.8% and 90.6% for short and standard‐length implants, respectively, with no difference between subgroups (logrank: χ2 = 1.34, df = 1, P = 0.25). No significant difference was also found between implants of maxilla (CSR = 92.2%) and mandible (CSR = 95.5%; logrank: χ2 = 0.08, df = 1, P = 0.78). Conclusion The OT Equator abutment (Rhein83) showed a stable clinical performance, with continuous and predictable survival.