Background: The aims of this study were to describe a procedure for the immediate loading of dental implants, evaluate the long-term survival rates of 1,139 immediately loaded dental implants, and analyze the influence of different factors on implant survival.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study design was used. A total of 241 patients received 1,139 immediately loaded implants between 2001 and 2005 in Vitoria, Spain. All implants were placed by one experienced surgeon, and rehabilitations were done by four prosthodontists. Each implant failure was analyzed carefully. The potential influence of demographic, clinical, and surgery-dependent factors and prosthetic variables on implant survival was studied. Implant survival was analyzed using a life-table analysis.
Results: The overall survival rates were 99.3%, 96.8%, and 96.9% for the implant-, surgery-, and patient-based analyses, respectively. The mean follow-up period was 28 +/- 15 months. Five of 1,139 implants were lost during the observation period. No variable studied was statistically associated with implant failure.
Conclusion: Based on these results, the procedure described for the immediate loading of implants can be considered safe and predictable if used under strict clinical protocols.