Page 180 - Peri-implant health: the effect of implant design and surgical procedure on bone and soft tissue stability

CHAPTER 7
a predictor for bone loss at 10 years.30 The present study showed a minimum bone loss up to 6 months (t1) and hardly any bone loss after initial remodeling (t1) up to the latest follow-up visit (t2). Provided that professional maintenance and compliance is taken care of, it is to be expected that further bone level changes related to the implant design are rather limited. Another limitation in clinical trials is the number of included patients. This is often limited because of affordability reasons. The follow-up time and number of patients in the current study is comparable with the included papers in the above-mentioned systematic reviews and meta- analyses.24–27 In addition the split mouth design of the study helps to minimize the aforementioned limitations.
■ CONCLUSION
Within the limitations of this study, it can be concluded that in a well-maintained edentulous population restored with a four- implant-supported overdenture in the maxilla with a platform-shift implant- abutment interface, the implant- abutment connection type (internal vs external), implant neck design (microthreaded vs non- microthreaded), and implant position (anterior vs posterior) have (1) no influence on peri-implant bone remodeling after implant placement and have (2) no influence on peri-implant bone level after initial remodeling, and have (3) no influence on peri-implant health parameters (probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, and plaque score) when implants are installed in relation to soft tissue thickness.
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