The Impact of Dental Implant Length on Failure Rates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The present review aimed to evaluate the impact of implant length on failure rates between short (<10 mm) and long (≥10 mm) dental implants. An electronic search was undertaken in three databases, as well as a manual search of journals. Implant failure was the outcome evaluated. Meta-analysis was performed in addition to a meta-regression in order to verify how the risk ratio (RR) was associated with the follow-up time. The review included 353 publications. Altogether, there were 25,490 short and 159,435 long implants. Pairwise meta-analysis showed that short implants had a higher failure risk than long implants (RR 2.437, p < 0.001). There was a decrease in the probability of implant failure with longer implants when implants of different length groups were compared. A sensitivity analysis, which plotted together only studies with follow-up times of 7 years or less, resulted in an estimated increase of 0.6 in RR for every additional month of follow-up. In conclusion, short implants showed a 2.5 times higher risk of failure than long implants. Implant failure is multifactorial, and the implant length is only one of the many factors contributing to the loss of an implant. A good treatment plan and the patient’s general health should be taken into account when planning for an implant treatment.