ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical performance of two-piece zirconium implants over a period of up to 2 years. MATERIAL & METHODS: A total of 52 patients with single-tooth gaps in the posterior mandible or maxilla received the same type of a two-piece zirconium implant system with customized heights of the transmucosal aspect. Fibreglass abutments were cemented and restored with fixed all-ceramic single crowns using a conventional loading protocol. The cumulative survival rate (primary outcome) was calculated according to the life table method, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate the survival function. Covariates (gender, implant position, implant diameter/length, oral surgeon) were tested using log-rank tests. RESULTS: A total of two target implants in 2 patients were lost after a functioning time of 8 months. The cumulative survival rate was 95.8%, and the mean survival time amounted to 32.9 months. Log-rank tests revealed a significant association for the covariate "oral surgeon" (P = 0.047). The Kaplan-Meier estimates of mechanical/technical and biological complications amounted to 2.1% and 37.5%, respectively. All implant sites revealed a marked increase of the vestibular mucosal level and gain of keratinized tissue at 24 months. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of a prospective cohort study, it was concluded that this two-piece zirconium implant/fibreglass abutment system can be successfully used in the clinical indication investigated.
Subject(s)
Dental Alloys , Dental Implants, Single-Tooth , Dental Prosthesis Design , Zirconium , Adult , Dental Abutments , Dental Restoration Failure , Female , Humans , Kaplan-Meier Estimate , Male , Matrix Metalloproteinase 8/metabolism , Middle Aged , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Conventional dental-borne rapid maxillary expansion (RME) leads to a widening of the airways, followed by improved nasal breathing. Although combined skeletal-dental appliances are nowadays being inserted increasingly often and provide a force at the center of resistance in the nasomaxillary complex, no study exists so far that shows whether this treatment may improve the expansionary effect on the airways. In this study, low-dose computed tomography (CT) images from 31 patients (average age 14.63 ± 0.38 years) were examined retrospectively. Both records (T0 = before expansion and T1 = immediately after maximum expansion) were taken in a time interval of 25 days to avoid growth influence. Five patients were treated with Hyrax RME, 6 patients with Hybrid RME, and 20 patients with acrylic cap RME. The total airway volume increased highly significantly (mean +7272.6 mm(3); P < 0.001, power = 0.998), representing an average airway expansion of +11.54 % (2.35 %/mm activation). While the nasopharynx and oropharynx showed highly significant expansion (P < 0.000, power = 0.999), the airway at the laryngopharynx did not change significantly (P > 0.779, power = 0.05). Although the patients were significantly older in the Hybrid RME group (P = 0.006), the positive rhinological effects were comparable within all groups of different appliances (P > 0.316). Hybrid RME may, therefore, be an advisable procedure in patients with nasomaxillary impairment and pronounced patient's age.
Subject(s)
Nasal Obstruction , Palatal Expansion Technique , Adolescent , Airway Management/methods , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Nasal Obstruction/diagnosis , Nasal Obstruction/physiopathology , Nasal Obstruction/therapy , Nasopharynx/diagnostic imaging , Nasopharynx/physiopathology , Nose/diagnostic imaging , Nose/physiopathology , Oropharynx/diagnostic imaging , Oropharynx/physiopathology , Palatal Expansion Technique/instrumentation , Palatal Expansion Technique/statistics & numerical data , Retrospective Studies , Tomography, X-Ray Computed/methods , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The study aimed at evaluating the 2-year results obtained following combined surgical resective and regenerative treatment of advanced peri-implantitis defects comparing two methods of surface debridement/decontamination (DD). MATERIAL & METHODS: Twenty-four patients (n = 26 combined supra- and intrabony defects) completed the 24 months follow-up observation following access flap surgery, granulation tissue removal and implantoplasty at bucally and supracrestally exposed implant parts. The remaining aspects were randomly allocated to surface DD using either (i) an Er:YAG laser (ERL) device, or (ii) plastic curets + cotton pellets + sterile saline (CPS) were augmented with a natural bone mineral and covered with a collagen membrane. RESULTS: At 24 months, ERL treated sites failed to reveal significantly higher reductions in mean BOP (ERL: 75.0 ± 32.6% versus CPS: 54.9 ± 30.3%) and CAL values (ERL: 1.0 ± 2.2 mm versus CPS: 1.2 ± 2.2 mm) when compared with the CPS group. In both groups, mean CAL values were not significantly different when compared with baseline. CONCLUSION: The long-term stability of clinical outcomes obtained following combined surgical therapy of advanced peri-implantitis may be influenced by factors other than the method of surface debridement/decontamination.
