"Many people feel physically and psychologically handicapped by their toothlessness, and it would mean a great deal to patients if they didn't have to wait so long for the treatment to be completed," says Pär-Olov Östman, the dentist who authored the dissertation.
98-99 Percent of Direct-Loaded Impants Successful
The studies used the same type of dental implants that normally need to heal properly before they can be loaded. A total of 457 patients had bridges anchored in their implants within 24 hours of receiving the implant. When the patients were followed up more than a year after treatment, 98 percent of all direct-loaded implants in the lower jaw were successful. In upper jaws that were previously completely toothless, 99 percent of the treatments succeeded.
"To attain such results the dentist has to do a good job, and there are several factors to take into consideration before choosing to immediately load the implant. I would say that several more years of research is needed before directly loaded implants can be the normal treatment for toothlessness," says Pär-Olov Östman.
Temporary Implant While Permanent Implant Heals
All types of dental implants are not suitable for direct loading, however. There are patients who cannot take a direct-load implant. The dissertation shows that these patients can be given an extra temporary implant that is smaller and narrower than the permanent one and can be used to secure prostheses while the permanent implant heals.
Pär-Olov Östman also developed a rapid method for dentists to create temporary bridges on implants in the mouth.
"It takes only a half hour for the dentist to create a temporary bridge. It's fast, and it's a lot cheaper for the patient than the robust bridges that dental laboratories produce, but they don't hold up quite as well," says Pär-Olov Östman.
FACTS ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS
The implant is a kind of artificial tooth root made of titanium. The titanium screw is operated into the jawbone and heals there for use as an anchor for crowns, bridges, and prostheses. The method was devised by Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark in Göteborg in the 1960s.
There are several types of titanium fixtures, but they are all based on the fact that titanium metal has the unique capacity to integrate with bone tissue.
Dissertation for doctoral degree in Odontology at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg Unviersity: Department of Clinical Sciences, Section for Biomaterials Science
Title of dissertation: On various protocols for direct loading of implant-supported fixed prostheses