A retrospective study on a series of 556 zimmer dental implants

BACKGROUND: One-stage surgery with immediate loading is possible, with good clinical results. Many types of dental implants are available in the market. Zimmer Dental Implants (ZDIs) have been used since the nineties, but few reports have analyzed the clinical outcome of these fixtures. We planned a retrospective study on a series 566 ZDIs, to evaluate their clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the period between January 2007 and June 2011, 125 patients were treatetd with ZDIs. The last check-up was performed in June 2012, with a mean follow-up period of 17 ± 9 months (minimum – maximum, 8-4 months). ZDIs were inserted as follows: 295 (53.1%) in the maxilla and 261 (46.9%) in the mandible. There were 480 (86.3%) Screw-vents, 51 (9.2%) Swiss Plusses, and 25 (4.5%) Splines. Sixteen, 355, 34, 90, 55, and six fixtures had a diameter of 3.25, 3.7, 3.75, 4.1, 4.7, and 4.8 mm, respectively. Twenty-eight, 145, 5, 217, 8, 141, and 12 implants hade a length of 8, 10, 11, 11.5, 12, 13, and 14 mm, respectively. The implants were inserted to replace 136 (24.5%) incisors, 80 (14.4%) cuspids, 198 (35.6%) premolars, and 142 (25.5%) molars. RESULTS: No implants were lost (i.e., SRV = 100%). Among the studied variables, only those for the jaws were statistically significant, with a better outcome for implants inserted in the maxilla (P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: ZDIs are reliable devices to be used in implantology, althougth a higher marginal bone loss has to be expected when these implants are inserted in mandible.