Franck Renouard David Nisand Authors’ affiliations: Franck Renouard, Private Practice, Paris, France David Nisand, Department of Periodontology, University of Paris 7, Paris, France Correspondence to: Franck Renouard Private Practice 26 Avenue Kléber 75116 Paris France e-mail: franck@renouard.net Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Key words: biomechanical aspects, dental implants, implant diameter, implant length Abstract Introduction: Despite the high success rates of endosseous oral implants, restrictions have been advocated to their placement with regard to the bone available in height and volume. The use of short or nonstandard-diameter implants could be one way to overcome this limitation. Material and methods: In order to explore the relationship between implant survival rates and their length and diameter, a Medline and a hand search was conducted covering the period 1990–2005. Papers were included which reported: (1) relevant data on implant length and diameter, (2) implant survival rates; either clearly indicated or calculable from data in the paper, (3) clearly defined criteria for implant failure, and in which (4) implants were placed in healed sites and (5) studies were in human subjects. Results: A total of 53 human studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Concerning implant length, a relatively high number of published studies (12) indicated an increased failure rate with short implants which was associated with operators’ learning curves, a routine surgical preparation (independent of the bone density), the use of machined-surfaced implants, and the placement in sites with poor bone density. Recent publications (22) reporting an adapted surgical preparation and the use of textured-surfaced implants have indicated survival rates of short implants comparable with those obtained with longer ones.Considering implant diameter, a few publications on wide-diameter implants have reported an increased failure rate, which was mainly associated with the operators’ learning curves, poor bone density, implant design and site preparation, and the use of a wide implant when primary stability had not been achieved with a standard-diameter implant. More recent publications with an adapted surgical preparation, new implant designs and adequate indications have demonstrated that implant survival rate and diameter have no relationship. Discussion: When surgical preparation is related to bone density, textured-surfaced implants are employed, operators’ surgical skills are developed, and indications for implant treatment duly considered, the survival rates for short and for wide-diameter implants has been found to be comparable with those obtained with longer implants and those of a standard diameter. The use of a short or wide implant may be considered in sites thought unfavourable for implant success, such as those associated with bone resorption or previous injury and trauma. While in these situations implant failure rates may be increased, outcomes should be compared with those associated with advanced surgical procedure such as bone grafting, sinus lifting, and the transposition of the alveolar nerve. To cite this article: Renouard F, Nisand D. Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates. Clin. Oral Imp. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006; 35–51 r 2006 The Authors Journal compilation r Blackwell Munksgaard 2006 The clinical use of several endosseous oral implants designs has become highly predictable in recent decades. However, their use may be restricted where there are limitations imposed by the geometry and volume of the alveolar 35 Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates bone. These restrictions are more common in the posterior regions of the maxilla and the mandible. It is generally claimed that the best treatment in these situations is surgical modification of the patient’s anatomy by bone grafting techniques, alveolar distraction or inferior alveolar nerve transposition to allow the placement of longer and wider implants. However, the adaptation of the implant to the existing anatomy through the use of short and/or narrow- or widediameter implants should now be considered as a more appropriate procedure. In the present review, a ‘short’ implant was defined as a device with a designed intra-bony length of 8 mm or less, a ‘wide’ implant as one in which the stated diameter was 4.5 mm or more, and a ‘narrow’ implant as one in which this was less than 3.5 mm. This review was conducted within the above parameters and evaluated, through a Medline search, the survival rate of oral implants related to their length and diameter. Material and methods Studies to be included in this structured review had to fulfill the following inclusion criteria: (1) relevant data on implant lengths and diameters, (2) implant survival rates were either clearly indicated or calculable from data reported in the paper, (3) criteria for implant failure had been clearly defined, (4) implants were placed in healed sites, (5) human-derived data were reported. If more than one publication referred to the same data, the most recent report was used. No restrictions were placed concerning study design, and randomized and nonrandomized clinical trials, cohort studies, case control studies and case reports were all considered for inclusion in the review. A Medline search was performed to identify clinical articles published between January 1990 and December 2005. The following search terms were used: ‘dental/ oral implant’ and ‘length’, ‘diameter’, ‘shape’, and ‘short dental implant’. In addition, a manual search of the following journals from 1990 to 2005 was performed: Clinical Oral Implant Re- 36 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 search, International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants, Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, Journal of Periodontology, Journal of Clinical Periodontology, International Journal of Periodontics & Restorative Dentistry. A further manual search was conducted through the bibliographies of all relevant papers and review articles. Two examiners reviewed the titles and abstracts according to the inclusion criteria. When necessary, the complete text of the article was obtained for further assessment of inclusions. Full texts of all papers that were considered suitable for inclusion by the two examiners were then obtained. Disagreements between the two examiners were resolved by discussion. Data extracted from the review were classified as follows: studies dedicated to short-length implants; studies with data available on length; studies mainly dedicated to wide-diameter implants; studies dedicated to narrow-diameter implants; studies with data available on diameter. Results The Medline search provided a total of 182 articles for ‘dental/oral implant’ and ‘length’, 103 articles for ‘dental/oral implant’ and ‘diameter’, 39 articles for ‘dental/oral implant’ and ‘shape’, and 102 articles for ‘dental/oral implant’ and ‘short dental implant’ of which 67 were screened as full text articles. A total of 53 human studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were divided as follows: 13 articles dedicated to short-length implants, 21 articles with data available on implant length, nine articles mainly dedicated to wide-diameter implants, seven articles dedicated to narrow-diameter implants and eight articles with data available on diameter. The selected articles embodied a wide range of approaches to study design, data reporting, definition of terms, implant geometry and surface, methods of statistical analysis, success and survival criteria, and follow-up time. Consequently no attempt was made to apply a meta-analytic technique. Implant length Tables 1a and 1b display the data obtained from the 21 articles which provided information on implant length. In most of these studies (12), a higher failure rate was documented for shorter implants (van Steenberghe et al. 1990; Friberg et al. 1991; Jemt 1991; Bahat 1993; Jemt & Lekholm 1995; Wyatt & Zarb 1998; Lekholm et al. 1999; Bahat 2000; Winkler et al. 2000; Naert et al. 2002; Weng et al. 2003; Herrmann et al. 2005). The worst results with short implants have been documented by Wyatt & Zarb (1998) with an overall survival rate of 75% for 7-mm-long implants (of the 12 implants placed, three were lost), Winkler et al. (2000) with an overall survival rate of 74.4% for 7-mm-long implants (of the 43 implants placed, 11 were lost) and Herrmann et al. (2005) with an overall survival rate of 78.2% for 7-mm-long implants (of the 55 implants placed, 12 were lost). However, only a few of these studies analysed the statistical differences between short and longer implants (Bahat 1993; Jemt & Lekholm 1995; Winkler et al. 2000; Weng et al. 2003; Herrmann et al. 2005). Thus, Winkler et al. (2000) demonstrated that shorter implants tended to fail significantly more often following uncovering and after loading than longer implants. Using logistic regression analyses, implant length was found to be a significant factor for survival over the observation period. In the same way, Weng et al. (2003) reported that 60% of all failed implants were short ( 10 mm), and that the cumulative success rate for these short implants was significantly lower than the cumulative success rate for all implants. In the study by Herrmann et al. (2005), a significant correlation was demonstrated between shorter implants and failure rate. In addition, comparing the two groups of short implants, a significant difference was found between the 7- and 10-mm implants. Moreover, it is of interest to note that some of theses studies, although concluding that shorter implants had higher failure rates than longer ones, still indicated acceptable survival rates for the former. As such, van Steenberghe et al. (1990) 213 (732) 37 | (35) Patients lost to followup (I) (97) at 5 years 60–144 (52.6) (66) (12) 440 (1022) 181 (485) 660 (1956) 60 (240) Testori et al. (2001) Naert et al. (2002) Stellingsma et al. (2003) 2 (8) 73 (204) 16 (39) (30) – (36) 12–84 38 (123) (120) 12–144 (64.9) – 3 (9) 124 – 3–84 (120) 16 63 (127) 12–96 4 short (8 or 11 mm) implants to support an overdenture in 20 patients with an extremely resorbed mandible. One patient lost to follow-up and no implant loss. 1047 306 18 341 1966 176 3 26 19 (100) 212 – 3848 (implants 10–20 mm) 192 / – – – – – 15 26 – – 276 – 6 / 94.3 yyn / – / / / / / – 21 CSR (%) – 86w 92 – 719 – 122 – 480 – 210 – 770 89.1n 207 88zzz 29 93 26 814 93.4w 291 – – – 246 93.9z N 10 mm – – 99.4 (implants 10–20 mm) / 1091 95w / – – / 91.5zww / 100 95nn – – – – – 97.4z CSR (%) N N CSR (%) 11.5 and 12 mm 13 mm (60) 12 11 (62) From stage 0 1 to the connection of prostheses 5–70 (30.3) 4 – (12) Follow-up in months (mean) Brocard et al. (2000) Jemt & Lekholm 150 (801) (1995) Buser et al. 1003 (2359) (1997) Ellegaard et al. 68 (124) (1997) Wyatt et al. 77 (230) (1998) Gunne et al. 23 (69) (1999) Lekholm et al. 127 (461) (1999) Winkler et al. (2917) (2000) Bahat (2000) 202 (660) Bahat (1993) van Steenberghe 159 (558) et al. (1990) Jemt (1991) 384 (2199) Friberg et al. 889 (4641) (1991 N patients (N implants) Table 1a. Studies on oral implants with information on length available 39 24 / 3 / / / 1 5k / / / – / / N – – / – / / / 100 – / / / – / / / / – / / / / / – / 19 – / 232 – 8 138 87n / / / 56 – / – / 110 – 7 / 84 – 43 74.4n 101 93.5zzz 37 89w 12 75z / / 298 – / / / / / CSR (%) – / / / / / 7 – – – 16 – 8 / / / / / 39 – / / 90.5zn – / / / N 6 mm 270 94.7zy 793 94.5z 120 97.5z 389 91.4w / / / – / / CSR (%) 7 mm CSR N (%) 8 mm CSR N (%) 8.5 mm 98.1z 98.5z 95.8z CSR (all length) (%) – – – – – – – – 81.5z – 94.6z 91.4 92.2 (C Success : 83.4%) 98.7 93.4 (at 10 years) 93.1z 92.6z 88.4 94z 95–100z 96.7 95.2zn 95.9z (in bone type II–III) 94.5z (in bone type IV) 91.85n 71.2–92.1 – 99.4z – CSR (410 mm) (%) 95z (10–15 mm)zz 100 (18– 20 mm)zz 80.3w (8 mm or 83.7w less) (12 mm or more) – – 83zzz – – – – – – 92.6 z (in bone type II–III)z 86.7z (in bone type IV)z 75.8n – 94.5 z (7 mm only) – CSR (o10 mm) (%) Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 38 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 (60) (63.6) 487 (487) 376 (1003) – 80 (80) (316 kk) 24–60 (4891) (222) 16–84 (46.2) 49 (82) (72) Patients lost to followup (I) 250 (759) 493 (1179) Follow-up in months (mean) – 259 2547 49 607 – / – – / 329 – 236 – / 95.7znnn / – – / CSR (%) N N CSR (%) 11.5 and 12 mm 13 mm CSR (%) – – / 81z – – / / – / / – / / 72 – / / / / / N – – – – / / / / CSR (%) 6 mm 55 78.2zwwwn / 143 – / 27 74z CSR (%) 7 mm CSR N (%) 8 mm CSR N (%) 425 – / 70 N 8.5 mm 159 89.9zwwwn / 1447 – 402 – 475 91z N 10 mm n Significant differences between short and long implant in the same study. wNo significant difference between short and long implant in the same study. zOverall survival rate. yData concerning the maxilla only. zOnly implants 7 mm length included. kImplants of 9 mm length. nnOnly implants 13 mm length included (for implants 15 mm length, the success rate was 98% and 100% for implants 18 and 20 mm length). wwOnly implants 13 mm length included (absolute survival rate);. Implants 15, 18, and 20 mm length present a 100% absolute survival rate. zzOnly implants 3.75 mm wide included (absolute survival rate). yyOnly implants 13 mm length included. zzOnly implants 3.75 mm wide included (absolute survival rate). kkIn the short-implant group (no data concerning the number of implant lost to follow-up in the long-implant group). nnnOnly implants 3 .75 mm wide and 13 mm length were evaluated (wider implants were excluded). wwwOnly implants 3.75 mm wide were evaluated. CSR, cumulative survival rate. Herrmann et al. (2005) Lemmerman & Lemmerman (2005) Weng et al. (2003) Romeo et al. (2004) Feldman et al. (2004) N patients (N implants) Table 1a. Continued – 93.1n CSR (410 mm) (%) 96.1 (FPD) 91.1 (6 years) CSR (all length) (%) – – 94z Machined 91.6 Machined 93.8n – (10 mm included)n Osseotite 97.7 Osseotite 98.4w (10 mm included)w – – 92.4 89 (10 mm included) n – CSR (o10 mm) (%) Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Type of study 39 | Longitudinal study Longitudinal study Prospective multicentre Wyatt et al. (1998) Gunne et al. (1999) Lekholm et al. (1999) Retrospective Ellegaard et al. (1997) TPS Machined Machined Machined Submerged Submerged Submerged Machined Machined Machined Nonsubmerged (93), TPS (93), Submerged (31) TiOblast (31) Prospective, multicentre Nonsubmerged Submerged Jemt & Lekholm Retrospective study (1995) Buser et al. (1997) Submerged Retrospective study Bahat (1993) Submerged Machined Submerged Retrospective, multicentre Machined Implant type Submerged Submerged/ nonsubmerge technique Friberg et al. (1991) van Steenberghe Prospective multicentre et al. (1990) Jemt (1991) Retrospective study Authors Table 1b. Studies on oral implants with information on length available 47 12.5 50 – 26.5 – – 100 66 87 53 87.5 50 – 73.5 – – / 34 13 5 Maxilla (%) Comments Longer fixtures failed to a lesser extent compared with the shorter standard implants (7-, 10-, and 13-mm long) 0.4 2.9 The edentulous patients were provided with Brånemark implants according to routine surgical protocol. The 7-mm implant failed more often (5.3%) than any other size of implant in the maxilla. A corresponding pattern was not found in the mandible 0.6 (2.7% for 2.9 (6.9% A majority of failures associated with advanced 7 mm implant) for 7 mm) resorption. Length of the implants may indicate the state of jaw bone resorption. No relation between implant length and failures in partially edentulous patients. Edentulous patients frequently wore removable dentures (preloading of implants) – – 7-mm implants had a higher failure rate than those of all other length. 60% of the failing 7-mm molar implants were the only implants in that segment of the jaw / 7.9–28.8 Factors of significance for implant failures in patients were found to be age, ratio of 7-mm implants and bone quality 5.9 (anterior) 12.2 (anterior) Analysis demonstrated a trend for better results with 4.6 (posterior) 13.3 (posterior) increasing implant length This trend was however not statistically significant 8-mm implants were predominantly inserted in posterior segment 7.7 2.7 The length of the implant varied between 8 and 14 mm, with 45% being 8 mm. Most implants were placed in the maxilla in periodontally compromised patients. A total of three implants had failed. Two were of 8 mm implants and one concerned a 10 mm implant 57% (of the 43% (of the The higher failure rate documented for shorter failed implants) failed implants) implants (25% failure of the 7-mm implants placed) compared with longer ones may be related to compromised placement in restricted anatomic sites. Alternatively, the effect of the same amount of bone loss on a short and long implant may result in dramatic differences in their survival rates 11.6 / Success rates reported in this study were achieved despite the use of short implants (54% of the implants were 7 mm) and the failure rate was similar for 7- and 10-mm implants 6.3 9.8 According to Cox regression analysis, the only relationship between failures and implant characteristics was seen with regard to implant length, in that shorter implants failed more often than longer ones 3.5 Before After Mandible loading loading (%) (%) (%) Implant failures Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 40 | Retrospective study Longitudinal multicentre Nonsubmerged Prospective multicentre Longitudinal study Prospective Prospective, multicentre Submerged Prospective Bahat (2000) Brocard et al. (2000) Testori et al. (2001) Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 Naert et al. (2002) Stellingsma et al. (2003) Weng et al. (2003) Romeo et al. (2004) Nonsubmerged Submerged Submerged Submerged Submerged Submerged Longitudinal study Winkler et al. (2000) Submerged/ nonsubmerge technique Type of study Authors Table 1b. Continued 83.7 0 – 100 19.1 37 – 93.8 16.3 0 – 0 80.9 63 – – / 10.1 1.6 (posterior) 2.4 (anterior) – 6.6 – Maxilla (%) 47% of the 53% of the failed implants failed implant – 0 6.7 0.6 (posterior) 0 (anterior) – / – Before After Mandible loading loading (%) (%) (%) Implant failures TPS (703), SLA (56) 6.2 Machined Machined Machined Osseotite TPS Machined Machined and HA-coated Implant type Shorter implants tended to fail significantly more often following uncovering and post-loading than longer implants. Using logistic regression analyses, implant length was found to be a significant factor for surviving for the overall period of observation As expected, the longer implants were more likely to survive than the shorter ones. However, the failure rate of the 7-mm-long implants was similar to that of longer ones when the 7-mm implant was not the most distal in a series The implants were divided into three groups according to their length with success rate for each group being comparable. Implant length did not significantly influence the results, especially for 8–12-mm implants Short implants, defined for this report as 10 mm or shorter, represented 31.5% (153) of the implants placed in this investigation. There is a tendency for shorterlength ( 10 mm) machined-surface implants to fail more often than longer implants. This tendency was not observed for the shorter implants placed in this study. Of the 153 short implants placed, only one 7-mm implant, which was placed in the posterior maxilla in a site recorded as soft bone, failed to osseointegrated. It is possible that the difference in biologic response between the machined implant surface and the microtextured surface is responsible for the difference in the survival rates for short implants A two-stage surgical intervention was performed according to a standard protocol. The shorter the implant length, the higher the hazard rate. Decreasing the implant length by 1 mm increases the hazard rate 0.16 times The objective of this report was to study the effect of three different treatment modalities (short implants, transmandibular implants, augmentation, and long implants) in edentulous patients with an extremely resorbed mandible. Differences among the three groups were not significant. However, in terms of discomfort and pain during the surgical phase as well as the length of this phase, the augmentation using an autologous bone graft from the iliac crest appeared the least favourite option. 23.2% of all implants in the post-maxilla CSR implants in the post-maxilla (all length) ¼ 86.2% CSR implants 10 mm in post-maxilla ¼ 80.6% Implant failure did not appear to be significantly influenced by length. Only 20% of failed implants were 8-mm long Comments Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates reported only three failures among 120 7-mm-long implants leading to an overall survival rate of 97.5%. Friberg et al. (1991) in a study on 4641 implants obtained an overall survival rate of 94.5% for 7-mmlong implants. Jemt (1991) in a study on 2199 implants reported an overall survival rate of 95.5% (of the 270 implants placed, 12 were lost). Lekholm et al. (1999) in a 10-year prospective multicenter study reported an overall survival rate of 93.5% for 7-mm-long implants compared with 91.5% for 13-mm-long implants. In some of these studies, the failure rates of short implants were similar to those of longer ones. This finding applied to 7-mmlong implants placed in partially dentate patients (Friberg et al. 1991), 7-mm-long implants placed in the mandible (Jemt 1991), and when the 7-mm implant was not the most distal in a series (Bahat 2000). Moreover, of the nine studies which provided data on implant length (Tables 1a and 1b), this was not reported as influencing the survival rate (Buser et al. 1997; Ellegaard et al. 1997; Gunne et al. 1999; Brocard et al. 2000; Testori et al. 2001; Stellingsma et al. 2003; Feldman et al. 2004; Romeo et al. 2004; Lemmerman & Lemmerman 2005). In a study on 2359 implants, Buser et al. (1997) reported a 91.4% cumulative survival rate for 8mm-long implants with a plasma-sprayed surface as compared with 93.3% for 10mm-long implants and 95% for 12-mmlong implants. Feldman et al. (2004), using dual-acid-etched implants reported a 97.7% cumulative survival rate for short implants (implant 10 mm) as compared with 98.4% for longer ones. However, in the same study, short-length machinedsurfaced implants did not perform as well against matched standard-length machined-surfaced implants (91.6% vs. 93.8%, respectively). Tables 2a and 2b display the data extracted from the 13 articles which are devoted to short implants. Depending on the definition of short implants among the authors, these articles involved 6–13-mmlong implants. Eight of these articles (Ten Bruggenkate et al. 1998; Deporter et al. 2000, 2001; Friberg et al. 2000; Fugazzotto et al. 2004; Griffin & Cheung 2004; Goen et al. 2005; Renouard & Nisand 2005) only dealt with short-length implants. Among the remaining five studies, the definition n Four multicentre study (Lekholm et al. 1994, Henry et al. 1996, Jemt et al. 1996, Friberg et al. 1997) reporting on one specific implant design constituted the basis for the research. SLA, sandblasted and acid-etched; TPS, titanium plasma-sprayed. 6.2 6 24.5 75.5 Submerged and nonsubmerged Prospective study Lemmerman & Lemmerman (2005) Machined (348) and rough surface (655) – – 50 50 Machined Submerged Herrmann et al. Research databasen (2005) Feldman et al. (2004) Analysis of prospective multicentre Submerged Machined (2597) – vs. Osseotite (2294) – – – Short-length dual-acid-etched implants perform as well as standard DAE implants. Short-length machinedsurfaced implants did not perform as well against matched standard-length machined-surfaced implants. The performance of these short machined-surfaced implants was especially compromised in the maxilla and under conditions of poor-quality bone A significant correlation was found between shorter implants and failure rate: the failure rate for shorter implants was 13.1%. Comparing the two groups of short implants, a significant difference was demonstrated between the 7- and the 10-mm implants, respectively. When adding length as a level for the multilevel analyses, no statistical significance regarding any of the new combinations could be demonstrated (jawbone quality and jaw shapes). Therefore, implant length could indirectly be regarded as a patient-related factor, since it is related to the bone volume present No correlation (no effect on failure rate) was found for implant length. Longer implants are not accompanied by an increased success rate in this study. If anything, the rate of failure went up about 3% with long implants (412). This could be due to operator factors such as longer drilling time; lesser ability of coolant to penetrate the osteotomy; or inadvertent, increased drilling force to get a deeper osteotomy Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates 41 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 42 | 88 95.5 (5 years) 92.3 (10 years) / / 100 / 100 / 100 17 / / 100 / 100 100 87.7 / 11.2 88.8 93.3n 95.9n 95.5nw 39.7 27.5 38 62 100 99.1 99.4 23.8 / 53 47 100 100 100 / / 100 / 95.1 / 95.1n 93.2 / – – 94.5z 95.8z 95.8 84.4 / 100 / 94.6 / 94.6 88 92.3 / / 100 100 / / 100 8 Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 n Overall survival rate. wWhen the survival rate of 10-mm implants was compared with those of the shorter implants, no statistical difference was found. zIn the posterior sextants. FPD, fixed partial denture; RD, removable denture; CSR, cumulative survival rate; Mx, maxillae; Md, mandible; –, not reported. 6.9 7.66 9 10.26 6 8.1 8.42 7.9 7.6 / / / / / / / / 5.9 1.1 100 / / 10.5 88.5 66.6 10.1 / / 4.3 5.5 23.9 / / 10.1 18.4 / 81.6 / / / / 17.1 / / / 94.5 65.6 3.9 33.3 / 1.5 / 14.1 / / / / 56.8 36.7 / / / / / / / 42.2 / / / / 0 0 15 (46) 21 (31) 0 – – 4 (4) 6–36 (11.1) 8.2–50.3 (32.6) 12–92 12–84 9–68 (34.9) 0–84 (39.1) 24–48 (37.6) (26) (48) (269) (528) (168) (979) (311) (96) 16 24 111 236 167 979 188 85 Deporter et al. (2000) Deporter et al. (2001) Tawill & Younan (2003) Nedir et al. (2004) Griffin & Cheung (2004) Fugazzotto et al. (2004) Goené et al. (2005) Renouard & Nisand (2005) 17 (68) 49 (260) / 83 12.3 32.4 76.2 100 6.8 15.6 / 92 / / 8.25 6.95 / / 19.1 45.6 / / 95 5 / / / / 35.3 / / / 0 21 60–97 (77) 12–168 (96) 99n 94 94 (n ¼ 97%) 98.4 94 99.5 64 3 35 65 100 81.1 / / 100 / 42.9 47.4 17.8 82.2 86.7 33 18.9 9.6 9.1 8.31 6 / / / 6 / 100 / / / 36 90 / / / / / / / 55 / / 3 10 / 3 (5) 5 (9) (28) 48 (100) 26 (67) 126 (253) Bernard et al. (1995) Texeira et al. (1997) Ten Bruggenkate et al. (1998) Stellingsma et al. (2000) Friberg et al. (2000) (36) (60) 12–84 N patients Follow-up (N implants) in months (mean) Authors Table 2a. Studies dedicated to short implants Patient %410 %10 %9 lost to followup (I) %8.5 %8 %7 %6 %5 Mean % % (mm) Single FPD crown % RD % Mx % Md CSR Mx (%) CSR Md (%) CSR (%) Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates of short implants included those which were 10, 11, 12, and 13 mm long (Bernard et al. 1995; Texeira et al. 1997; Stellingsma et al. 2000; Tawill & Younan 2003; Nedir et al. 2004). Although Ten Bruggenkate et al. (1998) recommended that short implants should be used in combination with longer ones, six of the above studies, reported the use of short implants alone. Moreover, some of the studies reported mainly on the use of short implants to support single crowns (Deporter et al. 2001; Fugazzotto et al. 2004; Griffin & Cheung 2004). Nine of these studies involved texturedsurfaced implants, two either machined or textured-surfaced implants and only two reported data concerning machined-surfaced implants. One of the studies (Renouard & Nisand 2005) dealing with both machined and textured-surfaced implants indicated a trend for better results with the use of textured-surfaced implants compared with machined ones (97.6% and 92.6% survival rates, respectively); However this trend was not statistically significant. Four of these studies were devoted to the treatment of the mandible, and three solely treatment of the maxilla. Despite a reported increased failure rate of short implants in the maxilla by Ten Bruggenkate et al. (1998) (six of 45 short implants placed in the maxilla were lost, giving an overall survival rate of 86.6%), acceptable survival rates in this jaw (94.6–100%) were reported in other studies (Deporter et al. 2000; Fugazzotto et al. 2004; Renouard & Nisand 2005). The worst cumulative survival rate of short implants (88%) was reported by Stellingsma et al. (2000) in the treatment of extremely resorbed mandibles with implant-stabilized overdentures. However, Friberg et al. (2000) reported a 92.3% cumulative survival rate after 10 years using principally short implants in severely atrophic mandibles, supporting fixed prostheses (45) and overdentures (4). Out of these 13 studies, seven provide data concerning crestal bone loss. Bernard et al. (1995) reported an average crestal bone loss of 0.96 mm between implant placement and the final observation at 36 months. In contrast Ten Bruggenkate et al. (1998) found no crestal bone loss following abutment connection in 72% of the patients studied, 1 mm loss in 16%, 2 mm 40% (2I) 60% (3I) 44.8 Machined (56.2%) and Ti unite (43.8%) Renouard & Nisand (2005) SLA, sandblasted and acid-etched; TPS, titanium plasma-sprayed. 100 Osseotite Submerged and nonsubmerged Nonsubmerged Goené et al. (2005) bone loss in 9% and more than 3 mm of crestal bone loss in 3%. Stellingsma et al. (2000) claimed that no severe bone loss was detected after a mean following time of 77 months. Deporter et al. (2001) found no statistically significant change in the mean crestal bone level from baseline to the end of the observation time. Friberg et al. (2000) reported a mean bone loss of 0.5 0.6 mm during the first year of function and losses of 0.7 0.8 and 0.9 0.6 mm after 5 and 10 years, respectively. In the study by Tawill & Younan (2003), the mean marginal bone loss was 0.71 0.65 mm; however 8.9% of the sites lost more than 1.5 mm (ranging from 1.6 to 3.18 mm). These results were consistent with those of Renouard & Nisand (2005), which indicated a mean marginal bone loss of 0.44 0.52 mm after 2 years of function. It is of interest to note that no specific pattern was observed concerning the time of failure of short implants. Apart from the studies from Stellingsma et al. (2000) and Goené et al. (2005) which indicated a tendency to failure before loading. In all, these 13 studies involved 2072 patients restored with 3173 implants (2141 6–9-mm implants) with a mean implant length of 7.9 mm, follow-up periods of 0– 168 months (mean follow-up for the nine studies providing this data was 47.1 months), a mean percentage of patients lost to follow-up of 9.5% (for the 10 studies providing this data), and a mean survival rate of 95.9%. Moreover, it should be noted that 46.2% of these articles had been published between 2003 and 2005. 55.2 30% (3I) 70% (10I) / 66.7% (2I) / 40% (4I) 33.3% (1I) / 60% (6I) TPS (50%) and SLA (50%) HA coated TPS and SLA – 77.4 100 Prospective Retrospective Retrospective, multicentre Retrospective, multicentre Retrospective Nedir et al. (2004) Griffin & Cheung (2004) Fugazzotto et al. (2004) – 22.6 / 70.6% (12I) / / 50% (6I) 29.4% (5I) / / 50% (6I) 100 100 100 100 (with 10 mm) Machined Porous-sintered-surface Porous-sintered surface Machined Retrospective Prospective Prospective Retrospective Friberg et al. (2000) Deporter et al. (2000) Deporter et al. (2001) Tawill & Younan (2003) / / / / 12.5% (1I) 87.5% (7I) – Machined and TPS Submerged and nonsubmerged (18%) Submerged Submerged Submerged Submerged and nonsubmerged (5%) Nonsubmerged Submerged Nonsubmerged – 57% (4I) 100% (1I) 100% (3I) 43% (3I) / / – – – – – – TPS HA coated TPS Nonsubmerged Submerged Nonsubmerged Prospective Retrospective Retrospective, multicentre Retrospective Bernard et al. (1995) Texeira et al. (1997) Ten Bruggenkate et al. (1998) Stellingsma et al. (2000) Table 2b. Studies dedicated to short implants Implant type Short implant alone (%) Submerged/ Nonsubmerge technique Type of study Authors Short implant with long implant (%) Failure before loading Failure after loading Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Implant diameter Table 3a displays the data extracted from the nine papers, which dealt mainly with wide-diameter implants. A higher overall implant failure rate had been indicated by two of these articles. The study by Eckert et al. (2001) reported overall survival rates of 71% and 81% in the maxilla and mandible, respectively. This failure rate was not related to any of the specific risk factors reviewed. In the same way, Shin et al. (2004) obtained a cumulative survival rate of 80.9% with wide-diameter implants (a significantly lower success rate compared with 87.5% for 4 mm diameter implants 43 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 44 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 Machined Machined Aparicio & Orozco Retrospective Submerged (1998) Retrospective Submerged Retrospective Submerged Renouard et al. (1999) Khayat et al. (2001) – Machined Machined HA-coated Retrospective Submerged Retrospective Submerged Krennmair & Waldenberger (2004) Shin et al. (2004) Hultin-Mordenfeld Retrospective Submerged et al. (2004) Anner et al. (2005) n Significant differences in the same study. wOverall survival rate. CSR, cumulative survival rate; Mx, maxillae; Md, mandible. Submerged Machined Eckert et al. (2001) Longitudinal Submerged Case series 74 (98) 45 (185) 90 (133) 43 (45) 58 (78) 82 (128) 114 (121) 63 (85) – 0 7 (14) 0 1–54 (23.4) 11–58 (33) 12–84 1 (1) 6 7 12–114 (41.8) 0 0–734 (286) in days 11–21 (17) (12) / / / / / 45 (6 mm) / / / / 78 89.8w 64 80.9%n / 85 71w (Mx) 81w (Md) / 98 91.8 w 94 97.2 (Mx) 83.4 (Md) 100w / / / CSR (%) 133 97.7w CSR N (%) 5 121 98.3 / (5.5 mm) / / / / / Patients 5 þ lost to N followup (I) 16–55 (32.9) 3 (8) 14–37 N patients Follow-up (N implants) in months (mean) Screw Vent 71 (131) Machined Case studies Submerged/ Implants nonsubmerged type techniques Submerged Bahat & Handelsman (1996) Type of study Table 3a. Studies dedicated to wide-diameter implant / 97.7w CSR (all ) CSR (%) (%) Comments The failure rate for all of the 5-mm implants (paired and unpaired) was 2.3%. The failure rate for all double implants (any size) was 1.6% / / – The reason for larger failure rate in the mandible for posterior 5-mm implants is not known. The mean bone loss after 48 months was 0.97 mm / / 91.8w Bone loss around wide diameter implants without a smooth collar is comparable to that reported around standard-diameter implants. Bone loss that occurred before second stage surgery was observed primarily for long implants 131 95w 95w Only 2.5% of the implants presented crestal (4.7 mm) bone loss beyond the first thread. Survival rates in the mandible and in the maxilla did not show a statistically significant difference / / 71 w(Mx) The current report demonstrated a higher 81w (Md) overall implant failure rate. The failure rate was not related to any specific risk factors reviewed. No relationship was noted between shorter implants and higher failure rates / / 98.3 In 58 of 74 maxillary implants, a sinus lift procedure was performed. Only two maxillary implants lost osseintegration / / – Although, the wide implant suffered a significantly lower success rate compared with the standard diameter (87.5% for the 4 mm-wide and 98.2%n for the 3.75 mm-wide diameter) implant, the 5-mm-diameter WP implants had a much lower CSR of 73.7% compared with an overall CSR of 100% among the 5-mm RP implants / / 89.8 w Better results were seen in the mandible (94.5%) compared with the maxilla (78.3%). All failures occurred within 2 years of the first surgery. The short group (7 and 8.5 mmlength) demonstrated significantly more failures than the long group / / 100w In the present study, only one implant presented crestal bone loss beyond the first thread at the end of the observation period / N 4þ Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates 45 | Prospective Comfort et al. (2005) Submerged Machined Machined Overall survival rate. CSR, cumulative survival rate; TPS, titanium plasma-sprayed. n Retrospective Vigolo et al. (2004) Submerged Nonsubmerged TPS Zinsli et al. (2004) Prospective Submerged Andersen et al. Prospective (2001) Machined Nonsubmerged TPS Hallman (2001) Prospective Machined Machined Submerged Retrospective Submerged and prospective 9 (23) 165 (192) 154 (298) 28 (32) 40 (182) 44 ( 52) 21 (30) (60) (84) 12–120 (36) (12) (60) 0 0 1 (2) 3 (3) 0 0 36–89 (63) 0 – / / 96.6 23 96n 92 (3.25 mm) – 298 3 / / / / 100 (2.9 mm) – / / / 96n 95.3n 96.6 – 99.4n 94.2n 52 (2.9 mm) 94.2n / 93.3 One failure occurred after about 66 months of function. Thus, the results show a cumulative survival rate of 93.3% and an overall survival rate of 96.7% During the 5-year period of this study, two implants failed at the second surgical phase Of the 160 narrow implants, one failure was registered. After 1 year of loading, the marginal bone resorption demonstrated a mean of 0.35 mm.12% of the placed implants were 8-mm length (one lost) 27 patients received 28 standarddiameter implants and 28 patients received 32 narrow-diameter implants with 100% and 93.8% of CSR respectively. 2 narrow-diameter implants were lost after 6 months but no others failures were subsequently observed in any of the groups. In both groups, marginal bone loss was recorded to be a mean of 0.4 mm.The CSR in the 2 groups were equal despite 2 implants were lost in the narrow-diameter group Three implants were lost during the healing phase. Two implant body fractures were observed. 60 implants have an 8-mm length (Only one was lost due to fracture. The 5-year CSR was 98.7% and the 6-year CSR was 96.6% No differences between the 2.9-mm and 3.25-mm implants, between small diameter implants used for single-unit restorations and those included in multiple-implant restorations were detected. 67.2% of the implants presented a marginal bone loss between 0.6-to 1-mm at 7 years One implant failed at abutment connection. The mean marginal bone loss during the first year was 0.41 mm and between the 2nd and the 5th year, 0.03 mm CSR Comments (all ) CSR (%) (%) 93.3 30 CSR (%) N 28 (3.25 mm) 93.8 160 / / Submerged/ Implants N patients Follow-up Patients 3.3 nonsubmerged type (N implants) in months lost to N techniques (mean) follow-up (I) Vigolo & Givani Retrospective (2000) Polizzi et al. (1999) Type of study Table 3b. Studies on narrow-diameter implant Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 46 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 surface (655) Non submerged TPS (703) 250 (759) SLA (56) Submerged and Machined 376 (1003) Nonsubmerged (348), rough- 244 (555) 49 (82) – (63.6) 0 16–84 (26) / / / / / / / / / – – / / / 97 / (at 5 year) – / 38 (123) 17y 6–66 (32) 5 (36) 60–144 (120) (36–60) 5 CSR (%) N 4þ / / – / – / 74 – 157 93.1 / 33 – / / / CSR (%) N CSR (%) 3.75 N 3þ / / 76 95.8 / 193 – 26 100 / – / – / 470 – 146 93.2 / 434 93w 435 92.2w 91w CSR (all ) (%) group (3%) and 17 of 97 (18%) in the 5-mmdiameter group. No relationship between the marginal bone loss and implant diameter was seen during the first year of loading. Shorter implants showed higher failure rates, specifically within the 5-mm group (20%). In the 3.75 and 4-mm group, Seven of the 141 implants in the 3.75-mm-diameter group failed (5%), 2 of 61 in the 4-mm-diameter Comments / / group showed significantly less marginal bone loss than the 3.75- and 4-mm groups Eight implants (3.75-mm-diameter) in six patients failed before prosthetic treatment. No differences in success rates were noted among the implants of different diameter. Length of the implants did not predominated among the failures of the widerdiameter groups (6 failures with 6–8.5-mm-length among 86 implants placed : ASR ¼ 93%) . All failures were recorded in the maxilla. The present study show similar low failure rates for the various implant diameters. 10 of the 18 failure were recorded in 2 patients. The 5-mm-diameter implant statistically significant. The percentage of implant failure for the 3 þ mm diameter group was higher at each stage as compared with 4 þ mm diameter group In the 3.75-mm-diameter group, only long implant failed (13–18 mm), while shorter implants (6–10 mm) appear to influence the survival rate of restoration. No so-called short implant (8.5 mm) failed 149 (3.3 mm) 94.6w 96.1 (FPD) Implant failure did not appear to be significantly influenced by length and diameter – – 94%w No correlation (no effect on failure rate) was found for implant diameter 98.5 95.3w 92.6w three of the 47 short implants failed Shorter standard-diameter implants were lost more often than longer ones, whereas no wider-diameter implants whatsoever were lost / 93.4 The failure rate of wide implant (4- and 5-mm) was (10 years) 5% vs. 7% for the 3.75-mm implants 92.7nw 93.1w The differences in survival for the 2 groups were / CSR (%) 11 (3.25 mm) – / 2695 / / 61 100 (Mx) 141 95.1 (Mx) / 84.8 (Md) 94.7 (Md) N 97.3nw / / / / CSR (%) 4 31 93.5%w 579 96.2%w (4.8 mm) – – – – / / 222 / / 97 86.3 (Mx) / 73 (Md) N CSR N (%) 5þ n Significant differences in the same study. wOverall survival rate. zForty-five percent of these implants were used for rescue purposes (when the standard ones were not considered suitable or did not reach initial stability). yBased on clinical follow-up. Based on radiographic examination, 48 patients dropped out. zImplant placement in bone of poor texture was executed utilizing an adapted bone site preparation technique. FPD, fixed partial denture; CSR, cumulative survival rate; Mx, maxillae; Md, mandible; SLA, sandblasted and acid-etched; TPS, titanium plasma-sprayed. (2005) Romeo et al. Prospective (2004) Lemmerman & Prospective Lemmerman Retrospective Submerged Garlini et al. (2003) Osseotite Machined Retrospective Submerged Friberg et al. (2002)z 98 (379) Machined and (2917) 202 (660) HA coated Machined 127 (461) 67 (229) (2000) Retrospective Submerged Machined Machined Winkler et al. Longitudinal Submerged Bahat (2000) Submerged Retrospective Submerged Lekholm et al. Prospective (1999) multicentre Ivanoff et al. (1999)z Type of study Submerged/ Implants type N patients Follow-up Patients nonsubmerged (N implants) in months lost to techniques (mean) followup (I) Table 3c. Studies on oral implants with information on diameter available Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates and 98.2% for 3.75 mm diameter implants). In two of the studies, survival rates were dependent on the location of the implant. Hultin-Mordenfeld et al. (2004) reported a higher implant failure rate with wide-diameter implants but better results in the mandible (94.5%) than the maxilla (78.3%). Aparicio & Orozco (1998) reported a cumulative survival rate of 97.2% for wide-diameter implants in the maxilla and 83.4% in the mandible. The remaining five studies indicated survival rates within the limits of clinical acceptance. As such, 528 implants with diameters from 4.7–6 mm were placed in 392 patients, with a follow-up times of 12– 114 months (mean follow-up for the four studies providing this data was 23.5 months). The mean number of patients lost to follow-up was 3% for the four studies providing this data, with a mean survival rate of 95.6% (91.8–100%). Bone loss around wide-diameter implants was comparable with that reported around standard-diameter implants in most of the studies, and no specific failure pattern could be observed. Table 3b displays the data provided by the seven articles, which are mainly devoted to narrow-diameter implants. All the studies included in this structured review have reported low failure rates with the use of narrow-diameter implants. Bone loss around narrow-diameter implants was within the same limits as those reported around standard-diameter implants in most of the studies, and no specific pattern could be drawn concerning the time of failures. In the study by Vigolo et al. (2004), no differences were found between the 2.9 and 3.25-mm implants, and between small diameter implants used for single-unit restorations and those included in multipleimplant restorations. All together these articles involved 461 patients restored with 809 narrow-diameter implants, with follow-up periods ranging from 12 to 120 months (mean follow-up for the six studies providing this data was 52.5 months), a mean percentage of patients lost to follow-up of 1.6%, and a mean survival rate of 95.5% (93.3–99.4%). Table 3c displays the data obtained from the eight articles, which provided information on implant diameter. Among them, only two studies indicated a relationship between implant failure and implant diameter. Ivanoff et al. (1999) reported failure rates of 5%, 3%, and 18% for 3.75-, 4-, and 5-mm-diameter implants, respectively. The lowest cumulative survival rates were seen with 4- and 5-mm-diameter implants placed in the mandible (84.8% and 73%, respectively). On the other hand, Winkler et al. (2000) have reported that the percentage failure for implants with diameters 43 mm was higher at each stage as compared with those 44 mm (the differences in survival for the two groups were statistically significant). In the remaining six studies implant failure did not appear to be significantly influenced by the diameter (Lekholm et al. 1999; Bahat 2000; Friberg et al. 2002; Garlini et al. 2003; Romeo et al. 2004; Lemmerman & Lemmerman 2005). As such, in the study by Friberg et al. (2002) the failure rates were 5.5%, 3.9%, and 4.5% for 3.75-, 4-, and 5-mm-diameter implants, respectively. No relationship between marginal bone loss and implant diameter was seen in most of the studies, which reported rather low changes in crestal bone levels. Discussion This structured review has identified 13 articles dedicated to short implants, 21 with data available on implant length, nine mainly dedicated to wide-diameter implants, seven dealing solely with narrow-diameter implants and eight with data available on diameter. It should be noted, when considering the outcome of this structured review, that the level of evidence was somewhat weak. As such the highest level of evidence (randomized controlled study) has not been reached in the present analysis. Implant length In the light of this literature review, four main subgroups of outcomes may be highlighted. Some articles showed clearly that short implants failed more often than longer ones (Bahat 1993; Jemt & Lekholm 1995; Wyatt & Zarb 1998; Bahat 2000; Winkler et al. 2000; Naert et al. 2002; Weng et al. 2003; Herrmann et al. 2005). 47 | A second group, although concluding that failure rates increased with short implants, still provided adequate survival rates (van Steenberghe et al. 1990; Friberg et al. 1991; Jemt 1991; Lekholm et al. 1999). A third group of articles reported that implant length did not appear to significantly influence the survival rate (Buser et al. 1997; Ellegaard et al. 1997; Gunne et al. 1999; Brocard et al. 2000; Testori et al. 2001; Stellingsma et al. 2003; Feldman et al. 2004; Romeo et al. 2004; Lemmerman & Lemmerman 2005). Finally, a group of articles which focused specifically on short implants indicated that these provided similar outcomes to those reported for longer implants, with survival rates of 88–100% (Bernard et al. 1995; Texeira et al. 1997; Ten Bruggenkate et al. 1998; Deporter et al. 2000, 2001; Friberg et al. 2000; Stellingsma et al. 2000; Tawill & Younan 2003; Fugazzotto et al. 2004; Griffin & Cheung 2004; Nedir et al. 2004; Goené et al. 2005; Renouard & Nisand 2005). There were many differences in the definition of a short implant used in these 34 selected articles (Table 2a). These differences must be considered for an adequate evaluation and comparison between the studies. With respect to this structured review, it may be appropriated to define a short implant as a device with a designed intra-bony length of 8 mm or less. In an attempt to understand such differences in terms of survival rates among the selected studies, several factors have been suggested: the implant primary stability, the practitioner’s learning curve, the implant surface, and the quality of the patient’s bone. First, it is of interest to note that some of the studies which displayed lower survival rates with short implants used a routine surgical protocol independent of the bone density (Jemt & Lekholm 1995;Wyatt & Zarb 1998; Naert et al. 2002). With such a standard surgical protocol, which frequently used a tapping procedure, primary stability of the freshly inserted implant may have been reduced. More recent publications dedicated to short implants have emphasized the use of an adapted surgical protocol in order to obtain adequate primary stability. As such, Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates Tawill & Younan (2003) indicated that the preparation of the surgical site was altered to ensure greater primary stability in sites of poor bone density. In the same way, Fugazzotto et al. (2004) did not use the countersink for implant placement and Renouard & Nisand (2005) reported the use of an adapted surgical protocol to enhance initial implant stability. Moreover, the operators’ learning curves have been proposed as a reason for the different reported outcomes with short implants between the studies. In the investigation by Stellingsma et al. (2000), 17 patients were each treated with four short (8–10 mm) implants placed in the mandibular interforaminal region, and restored with an overdenture. This study reported an 88% cumulative survival rate after a mean follow-up period of 77 months. In 2003, the same team, in a study comparing three modalities of treatment, included a group of 20 patients who were treated with the same protocol as the one used in the previous study. This more recent publication reported a 100% cumulative survival rate after 12 months followup. It could be argued that this reflects the difference in the follow-up time between the two studies, but it should be noted that in the first study 87.5% of the failed implants were lost before loading. Hence, it is noteworthy that articles dedicated to short implants published from 2003 to 2005 have reported survival rates ranging from 94.6–99.4%. With regards to the variations between studies in the outcomes of treatment with short implants, these may be explained by differences in implant surfaces properties. Out of the 12 studies which have documented an increased failure rate with short implants, 11 used of machined-surfaced implants (van Steenberghe et al. 1990; Friberg et al. 1991; Jemt 1991; Bahat 1993; Jemt & Lekholm 1995;Wyatt & Zarb 1998; Lekholm et al. 1999; Bahat 2000; Naert et al. 2002; Weng et al. 2003; Herrmann et al. 2005). The remaining study (Winkler et al. 2000) used both machined-surfaced and HA-coated implants. In the other hand, out of the nine studies which have indicated that implant length did not influence the survival rate, six (Buser et al. 1997; Ellegaard et al. 1997; 48 | Clin. Oral Impl. Res. 17 (Suppl. 2), 2006 / 35–51 Brocard et al. 2000; Testori et al. 2001; Feldman et al. 2004; Romeo et al. 2004) were performed with textured-surfaced implants. One of the remaining studies (Lemmerman & Lemmerman 2005) used mainly textured-surfaced implants. In the same way, out of the 13 studies devoted to short implants, nine used textured-surfaced implants and two used either machined or textured-surfaced implants. In an attempt to compare the 5-year survival rate of short machined-surfaced and short dual-acid-etched surfaced implants, Feldman et al. (2004) demonstrated survival rates of 91.6% and 97.7%, respectively. In this study a statistically significant difference in cumulative survival rate was found between short machined-surfaced implants and standard machined-surfaced implants. It is noteworthy that this difference increased dramatically in the posterior maxilla. For the dual-acid-etched implants, no statistically significant differences were demonstrated between shortand standard-length implants. When comparing, the cumulative survival rates in poor bone density, Feldman et al. (2004) demonstrated that short dual-acid-etched implants provided better outcomes than machined-surfaced implants (96% and 86.5%, respectively). Additionally, Renouard & Nisand (2005) have demonstrated a trend for better results with the use of oxidized implants compared with machined-surfaced implants. However, the difference of 5% was not statistically significant. Finally, short implants have been routinely placed in anatomical sites with limited bone volume (Wyatt & Zarb 1998). When the relationship between implant length and available jaw bone were examined, Herrmann et al. (2005) found that 29.4% of the 7-mm implants were placed in jaws with jaw shape E and 25.5% were placed in jaw with jaw shape D, according to Lekholm and Zarb’s classification. As suggested by Friberg et al. (1991), jaw shape and bone density must be considered as the most influential factors in implant survival. It should be understood that the length of the implant, in most of the studies reflects the state of jaw bone resorption. In the study by Herrmann et al. (2005), short implants placed in combination I bone (consisting of implants placed in jaw shapes A, B, and C and bone qualities of 1, 2, and 3) had a failure rate of 7.3% compared with 3% for longer implants. For combination II (jaw shapes D and E and bone qualities of 1, 2, and 3) and IV (jaw shapes D and E and bone density 4), the corresponding figures were 13% (short implants) and 0% (long implants), and 78% (short implants) and 0% (long implants). Obviously, in combinations II and IV, only seven long implants have been placed in comparison with 55 short implants. It must be noted that in such sites with poor bone density and volume, short implants should not be compared with long implants placed in good bone density, but with the advanced surgical procedures which would be required to allow the placement of longer implants. Hence, the 96% cumulative survival rate obtained in poor bone density by Feldman et al. (2004), or the 94.6% obtained by Renouard and Nisand (2005) in the treatment of severely resorbed maxilla should not be compared with the outcomes of long implant placed in adequate bone density. Rather, it should be compared with the overall survival rate of 91.5% reported by Del Fabbro et al. (2004) in a systematic review of implants placed in the grafted maxillary sinus, or the implant survival rate of 75.1% reported by Becktor et al. (2004) in the grafted edentulous maxilla. Besides survival rates, when comparing the outcomes of short implants with advanced surgical therapy, morbidity must be evaluated as well in order to allow an adequate comparison. It should be noted that neurosensory disturbances were experienced by 21% of the cases treated by inferior alveolar nerve transposition (Ferrigno et al. 2005), that post-operative complications specifically related to sinus graft procedures affected 10% of patients (Schwartz-Arad et al. 2004), and that complications associated with the distraction procedure affected 75.7% of patients (Enislidis et al. 2005). Implant diameter When considering narrow-diameter implants, it should be noted that all the studies included in this structured review have reported low failure rates. These figures could be explained by adapted and atraumatic preparation techniques, and Renouard & Nisand . Impact of implant length and diameter on survival rates the careful patient selection in terms of biomechanical conditions and bone density. As such, narrow-diameter implants would probably have been considered in clinical situations in which spacerelated difficulties or bone availability did not allow the use of standard-diameter implants. However, further studies are needed in order to clearly define the limits of narrowdiameter implants with regards to clinical indications, load-bearing capacity and longterm fate. In the study by Ivanoff et al. (1999), it was suggested that the increased failure rate of 5-mm-diameter implants was associated with the operators’ learning curves, poor bone density (5-mm-diameter implants were used as a ‘rescue’ implant in 45% of implant sites), implant design, and the use of this implant diameter when primary stability could not be achieved with a standard-diameter implant. This view was supported by the study of Hultin-Mordenfeld et al. (2004) in which widediameter implants were placed in unfavourable situations such as poor bone density, and compromised bone volume. As such, in some studies a trend could be drawn with a prevalence of early failures (Ivanoff et al. 1999; Eckert et al. 2001; Shin et al. 2004). In most of the recent studies, however, no relationship has been found between wide-diameter implants and survival rates. This may possibly reflect the use of newer implant designs, more appropriate case selection and the use of an adapted surgical technique. This structured review has demonstrated a trend for an increase failure rate with short implants and wide-diameter implants. The highest failure rates for short implants were reported in older studies, which were performed with routine surgical procedures independently of the bone quality, with machined-surfaced implants and in restricted anatomic sites with poor bone density. The increased failure rates of widediameter implants reported in some studies have been mainly associated with operators’ learning curves, poor bone density, implant designs and site preparation, and the use of this diameter as a ‘rescue’ implant. More recent studies which have used surgical preparation adapted to the bone density, textured-surfaced implants, and modified case selection have reported survival rates for short implants and for widediameter implants which were comparable with those obtained with long-implants and standard-diameter implants. In sites associated with poor bone density and jaw bone resorption, a prevalence of short implants and/or wide-diameter implants might be used. In these particular situations, failure rates may be increased, but should then be compared with the failure rates and morbidity of advanced surgical procedures such as bone grafting, sinus lifting, and alveolar nerve transpositioning. Thus both survival rates and morbidity must be considered when comparing the outcomes of short implants and advanced surgical procedures to allow adequate comparisons. It must be noted that the levels of evidence provided by the literature are rather low, and that further research with higher level (randomized controlled studies), should be performed in order to investigate the relationships between bone density, implant length and diameter, and survival rates. Becktor, J.P., Isaksson, S. & Sennerby, L. (2004) Survival analysis of endosseous implants in grafted and nongrafted edentulous maxillae. International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants 19: 107–115. Bernard, J.P., Belser, U., Szmuckler, S., Martinet, J.P., Attieh, A. & Saad, P.J. (1995) Intérêt de l’utilisation d’implants ITI de faible longueur dans les secteurs postérieurs: résultats d’une étude clinique à 3ans. Médecine Buccale, Chirurgie Buccale 1: 1–18. 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