Osseointegration and the edentulous predicament. The 10-year-old Toronto study.

This prospective study at the University of Toronto reports the 5-10-year results of treatment of edentulous patients with osseointegrated implant supported bridges. It comprised 46 consecutively treated patients, chosen because optimisation of traditional prostheses was not successful and because they were in sufficiently good health to allow minor out-patient surgery. Two hundred and seventy-four implants were surgically placed in 49 arches (three patients were treated in both arches) between October 1979 and March 1984. At the end of the 5-10-year observation period, 242 (88.32%) of the implants remained osseointegrated and 233 or 85.04% of these implants were used to support 43 fixed bridges and five overdentures. Nine implants, though osseointegrated, were not exposed and were not used to support the prostheses. Forty-eight of the 49 arches continue to be successfully restored with implant retained prostheses.