June, 2008, Vol. 10, No. 2

CONTENTS

REVIEWS

Conventional and early loading of two-implant supported mandibular overdentures. A systematic review
Vygandas Rutkunas, Hiroshi Mizutani, Alina Puriene
51-61

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES

Barx1, growth factors and apoptosis in facial tissue of children with clefts
Benita Krivicka-Uzkurele, Mara Pilmane, Ilze Akota
62-66

Creating three-dimensional tooth models from tomographic images
Isaac Newton Lima da Silva, Gustavo Frainer Barbosa, Rodrigo Borowski Grecco Soares, Maria Cecilia Gomes Beltrao, Ana Maria Spohr, Eduardo Golcalves Mota, Hugo Mitsuo Silva Oshima, Luiz Henrique Burnett Jr.
67-71

Relationship between mandibular cortical bone height and bone mineral density of lumbar spine
Estera Miliuniene, Vidmantas Alekna, Vytaute Peciuliene, Marija Tamulaitiene, Rasmute Maneliene
72-75

Caries experience in relation to oral hygiene, salivary cariogenic microflora, buffer capacity and secretion rate in 6-year olds and 12 year olds in Riga
Jekaterina Gudkina, Anda Brinkmane
76-80

© 2008 Stomatologija

Stomatologija 2008; 10 (2): 51-61 233 KB

Conventional and early loading of two-implant supported mandibular overdentures. A systematic review

Vygandas Rutkunas, Hiroshi Mizutani, Alina Puriene

Summary

Objectives. Implant loading time is considered to influence the treatment outcomes. Number of experimental studies have shown that implant loading up to 3 months can produce equally satisfactory results. However, research results in this area are not consistent. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of conventional and early loading of two-implant supported mandibular overdentures on treatment outcomes.

Methods. The articles from 1985 to 2007 in English related to the topic were identified. Totally 221 (214 online and 7 printed) primary articles were detected. Eight articles were selected for data extraction. Implant survival and success rates, periimplant parameters, prosthetic maintenance and patient satisfaction were considered.

Results. Implant success rate ranged from 83% to 100% in conventional loading group and from 71% to 100% in early loading group. During the first year in conventional group, the marginal bone loss ranged from 0.35 to 0.91 mm, during the second year – from zero to 0.2 mm, whereas in early loading group these intervals were 0.12-1 mm and 0-0.15 mm, respectively. Comparing averaged probing depth values at different time periods, it could be noticed that around conventionally loaded implants probing depth slightly decreased (from 1.62 mm to 1.56 mm), while around early loaded implants – increased from 1.7 mm to 1.82 mm.

Conclusions. Considering implant success rates and peri-implant parameters early loading protocol produces equal outcomes as with conventional loading. More well designed studies are needed to further substantiate the early loading protocol.

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¹Institute of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

²Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan

Vygandas Rutkunas¹ – DDS, PhD, lecturer

Hiroshi Mizutani² – DDS, PhD, assoc. professor

Alina Puriene¹ – DDS, PhD, assoc. professor

Address correspondence to Dr. Vygandas Rutkunas, Institute of Odontology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Zalgirio str. 115, 08217 Vilnius, Lithuania.

E-mail address: vygandasr@gmail.com