Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the peri-implant bone loss of infracrestal, supracrestal, and crestal implants from the day of placement and up to 1 year of prosthetic loading.
Material and methods: A retrospective clinical study was carried out. The sample consisted of 30 implants placed on 30 patients. It was divided into three groups: infracrestal (n = 10), crestal (n = 10), and supracrestal (n = 10) implants.
Results: Following the statistical analysis, it was observed that, 4 months after implant placement, the mean values of total peri-implant bone loss were 0.04 mm in infracrestal implants, 0.26 mm in crestal implants, and 0.19 mm in supracrestal implants. At the end of one year of prosthetic loading, the peri-implant bone loss was 0.12 mm in infracrestal implants, 1.04 mm in crestal implants, and 0.27 mm in supracrestal implants. It was determined that peri-implant bone loss in crestal implants was significantly higher than in supracrestal implants, and these in turn were significantly higher than in infracrestal implants.
Conclusions: The implants that obtained a better biological behavior on peri-implant bone tissue were the infracrestal implants with a converging transmucosal abutment.
Keywords: convergent collar; crestal implants; infracrestal implants; peri-implant bone loss; supracrestal implants.