Five-year retrospective radiographic follow-up study of dental implants with sandblasting with large grit, and acid etching-treated surfaces

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate five-year radiographic follow-up results of the Korean sandblasting with large grit, and acid etching (SLA)-treated implant system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects of the study are 54 patients who have been followed-up to date, of the patients who underwent implant surgery from May 1, 2009 to April 30, 2011. In all, 176 implant placements were performed. Radiographs were taken before the first surgery, immediately after the first and second surgeries, immediately and six months after the final prosthesis installation, and every year after that. Bone loss was evaluated by the method suggested by Romanos and Nentwig. RESULTS: A total of 176 implant placements were performed-122 in men and 54 in women. These patients have been followed-up for an average of 4.9 years. In terms of prosthetic appliances, there were 156 bridges and 20 single prostheses. Nine implants installed in the maxillary molar area, three in the mandibular molar area and two in the maxillary premolar area were included in group M, with bone loss less than 2 mm at the crestal aspect of the implant. Of these, eight implants were single prostheses. In all, six implants failed-four in the mandible and two in the maxilla. All of these failures occurred in single-implant cases. The implant survival rate was 98.1% on the maxilla and 94.3% on the mandible, with an overall survival of 96.6%. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, implants with the SLA surface have a very superior survival rate in relatively poor bone environments such as the maxilla.