Wide diameter implants: indications, considerations and preliminary results over a two-year period.

Wide diameter implants may be a useful alternative to conventional implant rehabilitation. Despite the fact that most major implant manufacturers are supplying wide diameter implants, very few articles actually address the indications, benefits and results of the use of wide diameter implants. Benefits and indications include increased implant surface area, "back-up" implant for when the initial implant lacks stability, immediate replacement of non-integrated or fractured implants, immediate placement of an implant after tooth extraction, anatomical considerations, increased prosthetic stability and biomechanical factors. Over a two year period, 268 wide diameter implants were placed in 196 patients. Preliminary results are presented in this paper and indicate an overall success rate, up to two years after placement, of approximately 96 per cent. All failures occurred before stage two surgery, due to non-integration of the implant.