Purpose: To assess the difference in the evolution of implant stability values, determined by resonance frequency analysis (RFA), between two groups of implants subjected to two different loading protocols: immediate and delayed.
Materials and methods: A retrospective clinical study was conducted, including a total of 93 implants placed in 38 patients. All implants corresponded to one of two models of the Klockner Implant System (Essential Cone and Vega) and were divided into two groups according to the loading protocol adopted: delayed loading in group A (>10 weeks) and immediate loading in group B (<48 hours). Implant stability was measured four times throughout the study period with a Penguin RFA device: implant placement (T0), definitive loading (T1), 6 months after loading (T2), and 12 months after loading (T3).
Results: Implant stability quotient (ISQ) values showed a statistically significant increase in both groups after loading. In group A, the greatest increase in stability occurred between T1 and T2, whereas in group B, the greatest increase occurred between T0 and T1, coinciding in both cases with the period in which the implants were subjected to prosthetic loading.
Conclusions: The functional loading of implants increases their stability, as measured in ISQ values by RFA. Increases in ISQ values are greater during the months immediately following loading, which shows that immediate or early loading protocols are not only possible but can also be beneficial.
Keywords: bone-implant interface; immediate loading; implant stability.
© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.