Peri‐implant bone density around implants of different lengths: A 3‐year follow‐up of a randomized clinical trial

Abstract

A higher degree of mineralization around short implants was recorded. Whether this finding goes along with hampered bone adaptability, and accordingly, higher failure rates of short implants must be studied further in long-term clinical trials.

Meta‐analysis of randomized clinical trials comparing clinical and patient‐reported outcomes between extra‐short (≤6 mm) and longer (≥10 mm) implants

“…Thus, earlier loading may have a detrimental effect on the new bone level. This conflicts with the concept of functional adaptation of bone to stimuli, manifesting as increased bone density (Sahrmann et al., ). Results also differ from the observations of previous meta‐analyses that reported a lack of a statistically significant difference between the two loading protocols (Esposito, Grusovin, Willings, Coulthard & Worthington, ; Helmy, Alqutaibi, El‐Ella & Shawky, ; Suarez, Chan, Monje, Galindo‐Moreno & Wang, ).…”

Changes of radiopacity around implants of different lengths: Five‐year follow‐up data of a randomized clinical trial

“…Among different surrogate parameters, radiopacity of peri‐implant bone which reflects the degree of mineralization of the bony microstructure (Meunier & Boivin, ) might provide valuable insight into the homeostasis of peri‐implant health and thereby the prognosis of implants. In a previous study, radiographs of a RCT with implants of different lengths were already analysed, and an increased “brightening” of peri‐implant grey scale values was observed after 1, 2 and 3 years of loading (Sahrmann et al, ). In the present evaluation, this parameter was reassessed after an observation period of 5 years.…”

“…Bone undergoes constant remodelling which is reflected by processes like tissue deposition, maturation and removal (Gotfredsen, Berglundh, & Lindhe, ; Seeman & Delmas, ). Over time, a pronounced radiographic density of the peri‐implant bone on intraoral radiographs was reported (Sahrmann et al, ) what is reflected by bone with a more cortical appearance as described for revisiting interventions (Chambrone, Chambrone, & Lima, ). Even though remodelling and structural change has been less reflected in studies so far, bone homeostasis might play a distinct role in the aetiology of a particular kind of implant loss which has been described as loss after several years in function without a history of marginal inflammation (Sahrmann, Naenni, Jung, Held, & Schmidlin, ; Storelli, Abbà, Scanferla, Botticelli, & Romeo, ).…”

“…Based on data from an ongoing randomized clinical trial which assesses implants of different lengths, a pronounced radiopacity was determined around implant of the cohort with short implants after 3 years of loading as compared to the longer ones (Sahrmann et al, ). In addition, more implants got lost from this test group.…”

“…None of them had ever shown marginal inflammation previously, putting the issue of a stronger degree of corticalization into the focus of interest. Today, data regarding the pronounced radiopacity of the peri‐implant bone around implants with relatively higher loading forces are still weak and limited to an investigation period of only 3 years (Sahrmann et al, ). In order to follow‐up previous findings after 3 years of loading, it was the aim of the present study to assess the changes in radiopacity around implants of either 6 or 10 mm of length after 5 years.…”