Aim: The aim of this study was to compare changes in marginal bone height around immediately loaded implants supporting a mandibular overdenture constructed according to the neutral zone technique with changes around overdentures constructed according to the conventional methods.
Materials and methods: Twelve completely edentulous male patients were randomly allocated to two equal groups of patients. Patients in the first group received conventionally constructed complete dentures and patients in the second group received complete dentures constructed using the neutral zone record. All the patients received two single-piece titanium implants placed bilaterally in the mandibular canine regions using flapless surgery, which were then immediately loaded by the dentures. Marginal bone height was radiographically evaluated at baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months after implant loading.
Results: There was a significant loss in marginal bone height around the supporting implants in each study group. However, no significant differences in marginal bone height were recorded between the study groups over the observation period (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Marginal bone height changes induced by overdentures constructed with neutral zone technique on immediately loaded implants are not different from those changes induced by overdentures constructed with a conventional method.
Keywords: Immediate loading; implant; neutral zone; overdenture.