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Purpose: To retrospectively compare short implants (6 to 8 mm) (short group) to standard-length implants (= 11 mm) inserted in combination with a lateral sinus elevation procedure (sinus group), supporting partial fixed prostheses in the atrophic posterior maxilla. Materials and Methods: Records of 118 patients treated with fluoride-modified implants in the atrophic posterior maxilla between January 2009 and December 2011 were screened in two private practices. Two to four implants were placed in each patient and loaded after 5 to 6 months with partial fixed prostheses. Patients were followed for at least 3 years after implant placement. Patients were contacted and invited for clinical and radiologic follow-up examinations. Outcome measures were implant failures, complications, soft tissue parameters, and marginal bone levels. Fisher exact and unpaired t tests were used to compare proportions and means at the .05 level of significance. Results: A total of 101 patients attended the examination: 53 (112 implants) in the sinus group and 48 (109 implants) in the short group. The mean observation period was 47.03 ± 7.46 months for the sinus group and 44.18 ± 6.42 months for the short group. Ten surgical complications occurred in nine patients of the sinus group versus only one complication in the short group; the difference was statistically significant (P = .01). Six implants failed in five patients of the sinus group versus two implants in two patients of the short group. At follow-up, mean marginal bone loss was 0.64 ± 0.58 mm in the sinus group vs 0.48 ± 0.5 mm in the short group. No significant difference was observed in terms of implant failures, prosthetic complications, soft tissue parameters, or marginal bone loss between the two groups. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, both techniques showed similar medium-term outcomes, but short implants provided advantages in terms of a reduced number of surgical complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of atrophic alveolar ridges using titanium mesh (Ti-mesh) and its correlation with the extent and timing of mesh exposure and amount of reconstruction planned. Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated 12 patients (mean age, 49.1 years) with 15 alveolar defects treated with Ti-mesh and particulate grafts (70/30 autogenous bone/anorganic bovine bone) followed by implant placement 8 to 9 months later. For each site, computed tomography images were analyzed using software designed to measure 3D volumes. The lacking bone volume (LBV) was calculated by subtracting the reconstructed bone volume at reentry from the planned bone volume (PBV). In all cases, the meshes were modeled preoperatively on a stereolithographic model. LBV was correlated with the extent and time of mesh exposure and PBV. Results: The mean LBV (0.45 cm3) was 30.2% (range, 6% to 74%) of the mean PBV (1.49 cm3). The mean extent and timing of mesh exposure, which occurred at 80% of augmented sites (12/15), were 0.73 cm2 (range, 0.09 to 3.45 cm2) and 2.17 months (range, 1 to 8 months), respectively. LBV was significantly positively correlated with the area of mesh exposed, with 16.3% LBV for every cm2 of mesh exposed; there were positive correlations between LBV and early exposure and PBV. Conclusion: On average, there was 30.2% less bone than planned preoperatively; there was a significant negative correlation between the amount of reconstructed bone and area of mesh exposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to compare the clinical and radiographic outcomes of single implants immediately placed and restored with two different implant-abutment connections. Materials and Methods: Forty subjects requiring single maxillary premolar replacement were consecutively included in this study and prospectively followed for 12 months. One implant was placed at the time of tooth extraction and immediately restored in each patient. Subjects were randomly selected to receive either prosthetic abutments with a Morse taper connection and a platform switch (test group) or conventional abutments with an internal connection and a matching diameter (control group). A provisional screw-retained crown was positioned and adjusted for nonfunctional loading within 24 hours. Four months later, the definitive crowns were delivered. Periodontal parameters and clinical and radiographic measurements of soft and hard tissue levels were recorded at the moment of prosthesis placement and at 4 and 12 months afterward. Means of the two groups were compared using paired and independent-sample t tests (P = .05). Results: Of the 40 patients recruited, 38 (24 women and 14 men) completed the study. No implants were lost in the control group, whereas one implant failed in the test group. At the 12-month examination, no statistically significant differences were seen between the two groups for periodontal parameters, marginal soft tissue level change, or papilla height (P > .05), but greater marginal bone loss was observed at the control sites (0.51 ± 0.24 mm) compared to the test sites (0.2 ± 0.17 mm) (P = .0004). Conclusion: Although the control group demonstrated a slight increase in marginal bone loss compared to the test group, the peri-implant soft tissues were very stable with both types of implant-abutment connection after 12 months of loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]