Guided bone regeneration around one-stage nonsubmerged dental implants with bone defects

Materials and methods: A retrospective chart review of consecutive patients treated with dental implants and bone regeneration at the time of implant placement, left nonsubmerged, and with a minimum follow-up of three years after implant loading was performed. Patients were treated between January 2005 and December 2009 at the Oral Surgery Unit of the University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. The following variables were assessed: complications with the healing procedure, implant success (based on Buser et al.22), and periimplant marginal bone loss. Statistical analysis was performed applying Chi2 test, Spearman's test and the Mann-Whitney test, using alpha set at 0.05.

Results: A total of 50 patients (26 women, 24 men) with a mean age of 54.8 ± 13.6 years (range: 25–79) and 75 implants were included. Seventy-one dehiscences (average height: 1.97 ± 1.06 mm) and four fenestrations (average height: 2.75 ± 0.95 mm) were treated. Five membrane exposures were recorded (10 percent). After 3 years post-loading, the implant success rate was 94 percent and mean marginal bone loss was 0.50 ± 0.27 mm.

Conclusion: Despite the limitations of this study, a nonsubmerged approach in connection with guided bone regeneration to treat periimplant bone defects is a feasible option with few healing complications and a good prognosis.

Editorial note: The full article was published in the 2/2018 issue of the Journal of Oral Science and Rehabilitation.

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