Background: In recent years, several investigations have demonstrated, in clinical and histologic studies, the practicality of the use of immediate loading in implant dentistry.
Purpose: The aim of the present study was to analyze the periimplant responses to immediately loaded implants retrieved from two patients after a 6-month loading period.
Materials and methods: Three immediately loaded implants (two hydroxyapatite [HA] coated, one with a sandblasted surface) were retrieved from two patients after a 6-month loading period. The implants were treated to obtain thin ground sections.
Results: Bone was present at the interface with all three implants. Bone-implant contact percentage was 80.6% +/- 4.7. Bone was present also in the thread concavities found at a distance from preexisting bone and in those concavities that were at the interface with the supracrestal tissues or with wide marrow spaces. No gaps or fibrous tissues were present at the interface. No inflammatory infiltrate was present at the interface. The mean of the sulcus depth in all three implants was 0.9 +/- 0.1 mm, the length of the junctional epithelium was 0.9 +/-0.05 mm, and the length of connective tissue contact was 1.1 +/-0.05 mm. CONCLUSIONS; Our results show that immediate loading of dental implants did not impede the formation of mineralized tissue at the interface, and it can probably be a viable alternative in implant dentistry.