Implant treatment in elderly patients.

A group of 48 patients, all more than 80 years old (mean age 82.7 years) at first implant surgery, who received a total of 254 implants, were followed in one clinical center. Of the exposed implants, 6 of 238 (2.5%) were found to be loose at second-stage surgery, and another 3 implants were lost during the follow-up period. Most patients had minimal postplacement problems, similar to what has been observed in younger patients. However, some patients (10%) experienced obvious problems with general adaptation and muscle control, which has not been observed in younger patients.