Immediately restored dental implants for partial-arch applications. A literature update.

This article carries out a literature update on immediately restored dental implants in partially edentulous patients. A search was made in Medline of all articles published between the year 2000 and February 2007, including all articles published in both English and Spanish, in which immediate restoration of implants was made of partially edentulous areas with a minimum of 12 implants and six months follow-up. Certain decisive factors exist for the success of this technique in partially edentulous patients, such as primary stability, a roughened implant surface, and the absence of parafunctional habits in patients acceptable for this type of treatment. Following the analysis of these studies of immediate restoration of teeth in partially edentulous areas, a weighted mean survival of 95.39% was observed. In spite of the high success rate, major controversy still exists on this subject resulting in few studies and short follow-up periods, making the routine use of this technique questionable.