Mini dental implants: a retrospective analysis of 5640 implants placed over a 12-year period.

Mini dental implants are becoming increasingly popular in dental care today. Because of their smaller size they are often used in cases of limited bone anatomy. Mini dental implants have diameters ranging from 1.8 mm to 3 mm and are suitable for long-term use. This article describes a retrospective analysis of 5640 mini dental implants placed into 1260 patients over a 12-year period. The mean length of follow-up was 3.5 years. The implants placed supported removable (2319) and fixed prostheses (3321), with placement in the maxilla (3134) and mandible (2506). The overall implant survival was 92.1%. Failures of implants (445) were attributed to mobility of the implant; the mean time to failure for these implants was 14.4 months. The small size of these implants has led to the development of techniques that enable placement and use in a short amount of time for both the doctor and patient. The high rates of success show that mini dental implants are suitable for use in supporting fixed and removable prosthetics.