Immediate loading of bilaterally splinted titanium root-form implants in fixed prosthodontics--a technique reexamined: two case reports.

A load-free healing period has been advocated as a prerequisite to achieving osseointegration. This article reports two cases in which immediate loading of a specially designated additional, or "expendable," set of titanium root-form implants was successfully utilized to support provisional fixed restorations in the maxilla and the mandible. This immediate-loading protocol is suggested as a reliable adjunctive therapeutic modality for offering implant patients access to fixed interim restorations during the healing phase of the primary fixtures. Another advantage of this approach is that it provides protection from potential transmucosal overload of the primary implants as well as any sites undergoing osseous regenerative procedures.