Annual failure rates and marginal bone-level changes of immediate compared to conventional loading of dental implants. A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis.

Background: Immediate loading of dental implants appears to be a successful option. Questions still remain whether annual failure rates (AFRs) as well as annual marginal bone-level changes are comparable with conventionally loaded implants.

Hypothesis: Immediately loaded implants (≤24 h after implantation) do not show different annual survival rates or peri-implant bone-level changes as compared to conventionally loaded implants (≥3 months after implantation).