1-Year Evaluation of OT Bridge Abutments for Immediately Loaded Maxillary Fixed Restorations: A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: Preliminary data on survival and success rates of immediately loaded, maxillary, screw-retained, implant-supported, fixed restorations delivered on narrow and low-profile OT Equator abutments (OT Bridge, Rhein'83) were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated data collected from patients rehabilitated with OT Bridge prosthetic concept between November 2017 and February 2019 in six different centers. Outcome measures were implant and prosthetic survival rates, biological and technical complications, marginal bone loss (MBL), oral health impact profile (OHIP), bleeding on probing, and plaque index. RESULTS: A total of 76 implants were inserted in 14 patients. Patients were followed for a mean period of 15.8 months (range = 12-24). All the patients receive OT Equator (Rhein'83) as intermediate abutments. One year after loading, one implant failed (1.3%). None of the prosthesis failed. One prosthetic complication was experienced in one patient. Three out of 76 implants were connected to the prosthetic framework using only the Seeger system, without screw. Difference in OHIP values was statistically significant (71.9 ± 8.5; p = 0.000). One year after loading, MBL was 0.21 ± 0.11 mm and p-value was 0.000. One year after loading, 8.7% of the examined implant sites present positive bleeding on probing, while 6.4% of the implant sites presented plaque. CONCLUSION: The OT Equator abutments (Rhein'83) showed successful results when used to support maxillary fixed dental prosthesis delivered on four to six implants. High implant and prosthetic survival rates, very low complications, high patient satisfaction, and good biological parameters, including only 0.2 mm of bone remodeling were experienced one year after function. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.

Oral cancer knowledge: a survey administered to patients in dental departments at large Italian hospitals.

We assessed the oral cancer (OC) knowledge, including risk factors and clinical symptoms, among patients attending dental departments within Italian university hospitals. Two thousand and two hundred questionnaires were sent to four hospitals in order to assess patients' knowledge regarding clinical and epidemiological aspects of OC; OC knowledge was evaluated overall and stratified by oral cancer family history. Participants frequently identified cigarette smoking (87.8%) and heavy alcohol consumption (58.6%) as a risk factor for oral cancer, knew the clinical signs of OC (65-79% depending on the specific symptom) and reported that early detection was related to better prognosis of oral cancer (94%). Individuals with a positive family history for oral cancer were significantly more likely to identify risk factors for oral cancer correctly yet family history of OC did not affect smoking status. Less than 15% of patients reported having received OC counseling by a dentist or physician.

A randomized prospective multicenter trial evaluating the platform-switching technique for the prevention of postrestorative crestal bone loss.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the platform-switching technique to prevent crestal bone loss following the restoration of dental implants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This randomized prospective multicenter trial analyzed 60 partially edentulous adults recruited at 12 professional dental centers. Subjects were randomly selected to receive either platform-enlarged or control cylindric implants in three different surgical procedures: conventional nonsubmerged, submerged, and submerged with a reduced abutment. The primary outcome measure was the change in crestal bone level assessed radiographically 12 and 24 months following placement. Nonparametric analysis of variance for repeated measures (the Friedman test) was used to assess the overall significance over time of the differences among implants in changes in crestal bone levels. Comparisons among and between groups of implants were performed by the nonparametric Friedman and Wilcoxon tests, respectively. In all the analyses an alpha = .05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 360 implants were placed (60 for each group). Three control implants failed during the 2nd year following placement. All submerged and 92% of nonsubmerged platform-enlarged implants exhibited no bone loss. Control implants with an abutment as large as the implant platform exhibited more bone loss than their platform-enlarged counterparts (P < .001) or control implants with a reduced abutment (P < .001). Submerged implants with an enlarged platform showed better crestal bone preservation than submerged control implants with a reduced abutment (P = .06). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the current trial indicated that the use of implants with an enlarged platform can result in better preservation of crestal bone as compared with conventional cylindric implants when a reduced abutment is mounted.