Survival rate of dental implants: an individual practitioner's anecdotal review of 25 years of experience.

Abstract

The use of implants has become an integral part of dental treatment. Examination of large data bases to identify the success rates of these modalities allows one to incorporate the implant that is most appropriate for the location and application. This paper examines in excess of 3000 implants of one practitioner placed over a span of 25 years. The number of implants is sufficient to subdivide by types and locations and retain sufficient numbers of implants to provide valid results. The examination utilizes the Kaplan-Meier at-risk analysis that takes into consideration not only numbers of implants but the time these implants have been in place. The maxilla was uniformly less successful as a location than the mandible. Subperiosteal implants were very successful in the mandible and the coated root forms were very successful in both arches. The subperiosteal implants and the endosseous implants are not utilized in the same situations. The subperiosteal implants are used in the severely resorbed areas, whereas the endosseous implants generally require substantially more bone. At 10 years, most of the techniques tended to approach approximately the same success rate. The general conclusion that can be made from this study is that there is no single implant that can be considered as the answer to all situations. There is also no implant that stands out as superior to all other types in all situations. Finally, there are no guaranteed successes and all implants must be viewed in that light. One must be prepared for all situations and utilize that implant or technique that is most successful for that particular case.