Impact of mandibular implant prostheses on the oral health-related quality of life in partially and completely edentulous patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of patients provided with mandibular implant fixed partial prostheses (IFPP) for rehabilitation of two adjacent missing posterior teeth and complete denture patients provided with mandibular implant-supported overdenture (ISOD). The response to change in OHRQoL with implant prostheses was additionally compared. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective study, 20 IFPP (mean age 47.0; SD 12.9 years) and 28 ISOD (mean age 61.5; SD 9.1 years) patients received 2 mandibular implants. Metal ceramic nonsplinted fixed prostheses were provided in IFPP group, while in ISOD group, the mandibular overdentures were retained by nonsplinted attachments. Patients rated their oral health-related quality of life using OHIP-14 Malaysian version at baseline (T0), 2-3 months (T1) and 1 year (T2) postimplant treatment. Mean OHIP-14 for total and domain scores between groups and intervals was analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA and t-test. Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for the comparison of mean score change and effect size, while the association between pre- and post-treatment scores was determined using multivariate linear regression modelling. RESULTS: The total OHIP and domain scores before implant treatment were significantly higher (lower OHRQoL) in IFPP than in ISOD groups, except for physical pain where this domain showed similar impact in both groups. Postimplant scores between groups at T1 and T2 showed no significant difference. The mean score changes at T0-T1 and T0-T2 for total OHIP-14 and domains were significantly greater in IFPP except in the domains of physical pain and disability which showed no difference. Large effect size (ES) was observed for total OHIP-14 in IFPP while moderate in ISOD. Improved OHRQoL was dependent on the treatment group and pretreatment score. CONCLUSION: Improvement in OHRQoL occurred following both mandibular implant-supported overdentures and implant fixed partial prostheses.

Electrochemical Treatment of Contaminated Titanium Surfaces in Vitro: An Approach for Implant Surface Decontamination.

Bacterial contamination on titanium implants can cause inflammation and eventually implant failure. Currently used methods for decontamination of implants have demonstrated limited success. Metal surfaces can be disinfected electrochemically. However, the effect of electrochemical treatments on biofilm-contaminated titanium is largely unknown. We hypothesized that electrochemical treatments are able to safely remove organic contamination and bacteria from titanium implants without altering their surfaces. This study was designed to assess the electrochemical properties of bacteria-contaminated surfaces in order to develop new treatments to clean titanium. Surface morphology, composition, bacterial load, and electrochemical properties of polished titanium discs were analyzed before and after biofilm contamination and subsequent decontamination with various electrochemical methods. The effect of the combination of the electrochemical with titanium brush cleaning was also evaluated. Results were then analyzed and compared to baseline readings (prior to contamination) using repeated measures ANOVA. Biofilm contamination increased the levels of carbon, nitrogen, and live bacteria on titanium surfaces while reducing their open circuit potential and corrosion resistance. Optimized electrochemical treatments with alternating current (-2.3 mA, + 22.5 µA) and voltages (1.8 V), were bactericidal and able to completely decontaminate saliva-contaminated titanium surfaces within 5 min while preserving surface integrity and histological quality of mammalian tissues. Furthermore, with the aid of mechanical brushing, the optimized electrochemical treatment was able to achieve complete decontamination of biofilm-contaminated Ti surfaces. The electrochemical treatment seems to be promising and well worth investigating for the clinical management of peri-implant infections.

Short dental implants: an emerging concept in implant treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Short implants have been advocated as a treatment option in many clinical situations where the use of conventional implants is limited. This review outlines the effectiveness and clinical outcomes of using short implants as a valid treatment option in the rehabilitation of edentulous atrophic alveolar ridges. DATA SOURCES: Initially, an electronic search was performed on the following databases: Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and DARE using key words from January 1990 until May 2012. An additional hand search was included for the relevant articles in the following journals: International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants, Clinical Oral Implants Research, Journal of Clinical Periodontology, International Journal of Periodontics, Journal of Periodontology, and Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research. Any relevant papers from the journals' references were hand searched. Articles were included if they provided detailed data on implant length, reported survival rates, mentioned measures for implant failure, were in the English language, involved human subjects, and researched implants inserted in healed atrophic ridges with a follow-up period of at least 1 year after implant-prosthesis loading. CONCLUSION: Short implants demonstrated a high rate of success in the replacement of missing teeth in especially atrophic alveolar ridges. The advanced technology and improvement of the implant surfaces have encouraged the success of short implants to a comparable level to that of standard implants. However, further randomized controlled clinical trials and prospective studies with longer follow-up periods are needed.