Peri-implant bone loss as a function of tooth-implant distance.

Purpose: In a retrospective study, the radiographs of 39 patients with Applegate-Kennedy Class I or II in the posterior mandible who had been treated with screw-anchored fixed partial dentures supported by IMZ implants and natural teeth were examined for the presence of radiologically detectable peri-implant bone loss. Furthermore, the results were correlated with a mathematical model.

Materials And Methods: The radiographs of the implants were digitized, and the areas of bone atrophy mesial and distal to the implants were determined semi-automatically.