Survival and Complication Rates of Fixed Restorations Supported by Locking‐Taper Implants: A Prospective Study with 1 to 10 Years of Follow‐Up

Abstract

Fixed restorations on locking-taper implants seem to be a successful procedure for the rehabilitation of partially and completely edentulous arches.

Clinical Evaluation of 762 Single-Tooth, Locking-Taper Implants: A Prospective Study with 1- to 12-Years of Follow-Up

“…The implant-abutment connection system used in this study is a locking-taper connection guided by an internal hexagon. This connection presents a taper angle of 1.5 degrees, and it is able to induce a self-locking mating between the parts; this implant-abutment connection seems to be able to reduce the incidence of mechanical complications affecting single-tooth restorations, as reported in previous studies [24,25,[27][28][29][30][31]. It should be emphasized that in our study the majority of the implants were placed in the posterior areas of jaws, where the mechanical loads are higher, with greater risk of prosthetic complications.…”

“…Only a few studies, however, have reported on the incidence of biological and prosthetic complications encountered with locking-taper implants in the long-term [28][29][30][31], and little is known about the long-term clinical outcomes of SCs supported by locking-taper implants [29]. An interesting way to describe the susceptibility to complications, whether biological or prosthetic, is to report the "complication-free" survival rate of restorations [28,31,32] . This index indicates a restoration that is not affected by any complications, neither biological nor prosthetic [28,31,32].…”

“…An interesting way to describe the susceptibility to complications, whether biological or prosthetic, is to report the "complication-free" survival rate of restorations [28,31,32] . This index indicates a restoration that is not affected by any complications, neither biological nor prosthetic [28,31,32]. The use of this index allows to objectively evaluate if a restoration is successful in the long term or not, because affected by biological and/or prosthetic complications [31,32].…”

“…Locking-taper implants have demonstrated mechanical advantages over screw-type, buttjoint connections: they can resist eccentric loads and bending moments, ensuring a remarkable stability, as demonstrated in several studies [22,23]. Different clinical studies have found a low incidence of prosthetic complications when locking-taper implants were used [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. Only a few studies, however, have reported on the incidence of biological and prosthetic complications encountered with locking-taper implants in the long-term [28][29][30][31], and little is known about the long-term clinical outcomes of SCs supported by locking-taper implants [29].…”

“…Different clinical studies have found a low incidence of prosthetic complications when locking-taper implants were used [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31]. Only a few studies, however, have reported on the incidence of biological and prosthetic complications encountered with locking-taper implants in the long-term [28][29][30][31], and little is known about the long-term clinical outcomes of SCs supported by locking-taper implants [29]. An interesting way to describe the susceptibility to complications, whether biological or prosthetic, is to report the "complication-free" survival rate of restorations [28,31,32] .…”