Purpose: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to report on the clinical outcome of immediate provisionalization using one-piece narrow-diameter implants.
Materials and methods: The dental records of patients who received narrow implants were reviewed. Narrow-diameter (3.0-mm) one-piece implants were used to support restorations of missing maxillary lateral incisors and mandibular incisors. All implants were placed in a one-stage procedure according to the protocol recommended by the manufacturer, with immediate placement of provisional restorations. Following an average healing period of 3 months in the mandible and 5 months in the maxilla, the definitive prostheses were fabricated. The survival rate of the implants was analyzed, and radiographic evaluation was performed. RESULTS. Thirty-six patients (20 men and 16 women), aged from 42 to 72 years (average age of 53 years), were treated with 62 one-piece narrow implants. A success rate of 100% was observed over a period up to 33 months (mean, 23 ± 4.3 months). Among these, 8 implants were placed in maxillary lateral incisor positions and 54 implants were placed in mandibular incisor areas. Forty-four implants supported fixed partial prostheses, and 18 implants supported single crowns. The majority of the implants were 15 mm in length. Mean marginal bone loss at the 12-month follow-up visit was 0.53 ± 0.37 mm (range, 0 to 1.4 mm).
Conclusions: The results obtained in this retrospective analysis suggest that the one-piece narrow-diameter implant can predictably restore missing maxillary lateral incisors and mandibular incisor with narrow interdental spaces and labiolingual widths.