Rehabilitation of the jaws with a reduced number of implants: 9-year follow-up and correlation between operator expertise and implant–prosthetic issues
Authors
Raffaele Vinci, Antonio Ligabue, Liliana Ottria, Alessandro Dolci, Alfredo De Rosa, Guglielmo Turbiglio, B. Vitali, Gian Luca Pancrazi, Elena Bussolari
Abstract
Full-arch immediate-loading rehabilitation supported by a reduced number of implants is a consolidated therapeutic approach for edentulous or terminal-dentition patients. The use of axial and tilted implants may permit efficient use of residual bone while limiting the need for more invasive reconstructive procedures.
Objective: To retrospectively evaluate implant failures and prosthetic complications in full-arch immediate-loading rehabilitations performed by the same surgeon over a 9-year treatment period and to describe outcome variation across three consecutive three-year cohorts.
Materials and methods: A total of 159 patients treated between 2013 and 2021 were included. Overall, 192 full-arch rehabilitations were performed and 852 implants were reported as placed. Cases were grouped into three periods: 2013–2015, 2016–2018, and 2019–2021. The primary outcomes were implant failure and prosthetic complications involving provisional or definitive prostheses.
Results: Fourteen implants failed, corresponding to an overall crude failure proportion of 1.64% (14/852). Thirty-one prosthetic complications were recorded among 192 rehabilitated arches (16.14%). Implant failure proportions were 2.14%, 8.00%, and 0.49% in the first, second, and third periods, respectively; prosthetic complication proportions were 22.6%, 52.4%, and 9.3%.
Conclusions: Full-arch immediate-loading rehabilitation with a reduced number of implants showed a low overall implant failure proportion in this retrospective series. Outcomes varied substantially across treatment periods, with the highest event proportions in the middle period and the lowest in the final period. The findings support the importance of standardized protocols, cumulative experience, continuous clinical vigilance, and systematic outcome monitoring.
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