Purpose: To monitor the development of stability of immediately loaded implants during early healing.
Materials and methods: A total of 90 interforaminally placed implants with an alkali-treated surface were considered. The stability of each implant was examined at placement and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 weeks after the surgery using resonance frequency analysis (RFA) and damping capacity measurement. The development of implant stability, focusing on the decrease in stability (as measured by implant stability quotient [ISQ]) and the interplay of primary (ISQ0) and secondary implant stability, was evaluated. The implants were divided into three groups based on primary stability: group L (ISQ0 < 68), group M (ISQ0 68 to72), and group H (ISQ0 > 72). Stability curves for each group were created and analyzed statistically. Implant stability measurement results gained with RFA and damping capacity were compared employing the Wilcoxon paired test, correlation coefficients, and regression analysis. The threshold for statistical significance was set at P < .05.
Results: The most pronounced decrease in ISQ values occurred 1 week after implant placement (mean decrease of 2.2 ISQ). During the 10-week experiment, mean ISQ rose by 5.5 in group L and by 1.3 in group M and dropped by 1.8 in group H (P < .001). The coefficient of determination R2 = 0.06 showed a weak dependence of RFA on the damping capacity (P < .001).
Conclusions: Implants with low primary stability showed a significant increase in stability during healing. In contrast, implants with high primary stability lost some stability over time.