Long-term marginal periimplant bone loss in edentulous patients.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the long-term periimplant bone loss in patients treated with implant-supported fixed prostheses in both jaws.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants comprised 44 edentulous patients who have been followed for a 15-year period after treatment with a fixed implant-supported prosthesis in the mandible. Thirteen of them also received an implant-supported fixed prosthesis in the maxilla, on average 4.5 years after the mandibular treatment. The periimplant bone level was measured on intraoral radiographs.
RESULTS: The long-term results of the implant treatment were successful, and only 1% (3/273) of the implants were lost in the mandible and 7% (5/75) in the maxilla. All but one of the failures occurred before the connection of the prostheses. The mean marginal bone loss around the implants was small (less than 1 mm for a 10-year period after implant placement), and was of similar magnitude in both jaws. However, the individual variation was relatively great. There was no significant difference in marginal bone loss between those who had a maxillary complete denture during the entire observation period and those who had received a fixed implant-supported maxillary prosthesis. Smokers lost more periimplant bone than did the nonsmokers; the difference was significant in the mandible but small and nonsignificant in the maxilla.
CONCLUSION: The long-term periimplant bone loss was small and of similar magnitude in the mandible and the maxilla in subjects who had received implant-supported fixed prostheses in both jaws. The prosthetic status in the maxilla, i.e., complete denture or fixed implant-supported prosthesis, had no significant influence on the mandibular periimplant bone loss.