Osseointegration of immediately loaded dental implants in the edentulous jaws. A study of the literature

Clinical studies have indicated the possibility of osseointegration following one-stage surgery and immediate loading of titanium implants in edentulous jaws. However, there is little long-term data comparing this method to the conventional two-stage technique. Based on these observations the objective of the present study was to describe the biology of osseointegration and the scientific background for the healing of implants prior to occlusal loading. The authors also present a study of the literature of new clinical methods for immediate loading in edentulous jaws as well as a description of these techniques. Literature for both the classic two-stage protocol, as well as immediate loading techniques, such as the LITORIM and Novum implant systems, were studied and their respective implant survival rates were compared. The results of the literature study indicate that the implant survival rate of the classic two-stage surgery and the delayed loading of implants can be used as the standard to which all other methods should be compared. The results of one-stage surgery and immediately loaded implants have been promising but have not achieved the same rate of success as the classic twostage protocol. The literature study demonstrated the need for more long-term clinical studies using a higher number of human test subjects in order to make any statistically significant conclusions. However, considering the debilitating nature of complete edentulism, both functionally and aesthetically, as well as the increasing number of elderly patients, immediately loaded dental implants may be thought of as the treatment of choice for those patients whom demand a quick and efficient treatment.