A systematic review of the prognosis of short (<10 mm) dental implants placed in the partially edentulous patient

Abstract

International audienceAim: This study evaluated, through a systematic review of the literature, the estimated implant survival rate of short (<10 mm) dental implants installed in partially edentulous patients. Materials & methods: A systematic search was conducted in the electronic databases of MEDLINE (1980-October 2009) and EMBASE (1980-October 2009) to identify eligible studies. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of the articles using specific study-design related quality assessment forms. Results: Twenty-nine methodologically acceptable studies were selected. A total of 2611 short implants (lengths 5-9.5 mm) was analysed. Increase of implant length was associated with an increase in implant survival (from 93.1% to 98.6%). Heterogeneity between studies was explored by subgroup analyses. The cumulative estimated failure rate of studies performed in the maxilla was 0.010 implants per year, comparing to 0.003 of the studies in the mandible. For studies which also included smokers the failure rate was 0.008 comparing to 0.004 of studies which excluded smokers. Surface topography and augmentation procedure were no source of heterogeneity. Conclusion: There is fair evidence that short (<10 mm) implants can be successfully placed in the partially edentulous patient, though with a tendency of an increasing survival rate per implant length and the prognosis may be better in the mandible of non smoking patients