PURPOSE: The purpose of this retrospective investigation was to present the incidence of biological and technical complications in patients treated with implant-supported, immediately loaded full-arch restorations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical data of all patients treated with full-arch, immediately loaded rehabilitations supported by a combination of upright and tilted implants were screened. Data on both technical and biological complications (such as peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis) and their onset and frequency of occurrence were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The clinical records of 86 patients (95 prosthetic rehabilitations) were included in this study. There were 61 mandibular rehabilitations and 34 maxillary ones, all of them immediately loaded within 8 to 48 hours of the surgical intervention. The follow-up time varied from 16.3 to 112 months of function (mean 65.36 months). The most common biological complications were hygiene-related (n = 81; 30.2% of patients displayed peri-implant mucositis and 10.4% peri-implantitis). Among all prosthetic complications, the detachment of an element of the definitive prosthesis was the most frequent event (n = 20; 23.2% of patients). The total number of prosthetic complications was 42. Most complications were reversible and did not affect the overall implant/prosthesis survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence in well-maintained patients of technical and biological complications in full-arch rehabilitations supported by a combination of tilted and upright implants in the medium to long term is lower than previously reported by the pertinent literature. Further studies are needed to confirm this result.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this retrospective investigation was to present the incidence of biological and technical complications in patients treated with implant-supported, immediately loaded full-arch restorations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical data of all patients treated with full-arch, immediately loaded rehabilitations supported by a combination of upright and tilted implants were screened. Data on both technical and biological complications (such as peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis) and their onset and frequency of occurrence were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The clinical records of 86 patients (95 prosthetic rehabilitations) were included in this study. There were 61 mandibular rehabilitations and 34 maxillary ones, all of them immediately loaded within 8 to 48 hours of the surgical intervention. The follow-up time varied from 16.3 to 112 months of function (mean 65.36 months). The most common biological complications were hygiene-related (n = 81; 30.2% of patients displayed peri-implant mucositis and 10.4% peri-implantitis). Among all prosthetic complications, the detachment of an element of the definitive prosthesis was the most frequent event (n = 20; 23.2% of patients). The total number of prosthetic complications was 42. Most complications were reversible and did not affect the overall implant/prosthesis survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: The occurrence in well-maintained patients of technical and biological complications in full-arch rehabilitations supported by a combination of tilted and upright implants in the medium to long term is lower than previously reported by the pertinent literature. Further studies are needed to confirm this result.