Frequency of Dental Implants Placed in the Esthetic Zone in Dental Clinic of Tehran University: A Descriptive Study

OBJECTIVES: Anterior maxilla, known as the esthetic zone, plays an important role in facial and smile esthetics. This study assessed the frequency of implant treatments in the esthetic zone of patients presenting to Dental Implant Department of Tehran University during 2002–2012. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted on dental records of patients receiving implant treatment during 2002–2012. Patient records were retrieved from the archives and patient demographics, implant characteristics, failure rate, prevalence of complications and implant systems were collected. The data were reported as frequency and percentage. RESULTS: Of a total of 2,381 implants placed in the mentioned time period, 492 (20.8%) had been placed in the anterior maxilla and 531 (22.3%) had been placed in the anterior mandible from canine to canine. Timing of implant placement was immediate in 12.0%, early in 0.5% and late in 87.4%. Survival rate was 99.1%. Rate of failure was 0.8%. Failure rate was 0.4% in the maxillary and 1.1% in the mandibular canine to canine region. Complications were reported in 10.1% of patients. Rate of complications was 18.3% in the maxillary canine to canine, 8.9% in the mandibular canine to canine, 18.1% in the maxillary first premolar to first premolar and 9.5% in the mandibular first premolar to first premolar. The frequency of bone grafts placed in these areas was 17.6%, 33.9%, 13.6%, 32.1% and 14.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Of implants placed in our center, around 20% were in the anterior maxilla, and delayed implant placement was the most commonly adopted technique.