[A clinical evaluation of implant dentures over 10 years].

Purpose: To evaluate the medium and long term clinical results of implant dentures.

Methods: A total of 1786 implants were consecutively inserted in 1121 patients from June. 1995 to June. 2005, with superstructure completed. Among them, 92 were of Bränemark implants, 108 ITI implants, 21 Replace implants, 79 Lifecore implants, and 1486 BLB implants. Among the patients, 510 were treated with single tooth screw-retained prostheses, 413 with single tooth cement-retained prostheses, 175 with fixed-bridge prostheses, and 23 with implant-supported overdentures. The overall results were evaluated by radiography, clinical examination and patient satisfaction investigation during follow-up periods varying from 9 to 122 months. 10-year cumulative survival rate was calculated by life-table analysis. The data were analyzed using paired-samples t test with SAS9.1.3 software package.

Results: 1760 implants gained osseointegration in 1102 patients, and 26 implants were lost in 19 patients, with a cumulative survival rate of implants being 98.1% over the 10 years. Among the 510 cases with screw-retained ceramic crowns, prosthesis loosening was observed in 39 cases and fracture in 2 cases; among the 413 cases with cement-retained crowns, ceramic crack was observed in 17 cases and crown disengagement in 5 cases. In comparison of bone absorption value in X-ray, there was no statistical difference among different implant systems. Patient satisfaction investigation showed a significant increase in aesthetics, phonetics, mastication and retention after treatment.

Conclusions: Implant denture is an effective method to restore lost teeth. The cumulative survival rate of implants is 98.1% for the series of cases.