Literature review 4-22-04 

    1- Implant-supported fixed cantilever prostheses in partially edentulous arches. A seven-year prospective study. DOWNLOAD. "Pot pourri" of cases, not truely a prospective study, small sample size, really can't draw any conclusions.

    2- Long-termimplant prognosis in patients with and without a history of chronic periodontitis: a 10-year prospective cohort study of the ITIs Dental ImplantSystem.  DOWNLOAD.
                                                      People now recognize there are problems with coated implants. ITI's big contribution: 1-stage concept is biologically possible. Nicklaus Lang owns 20% + of ITI, has financial interest in dentists continuing to use this system. Over 10% of implants failed in patients with periodontitis. Honest research and statements. First paper to acknowledge high failure rate with coated implants.
    3-  Critical review of immediate implant loading.  DOWNLOAD.  Review of literature, not research. Conclusion: there is biologic evidence to suggest that the concept of immediate loading is viable; but currently there is no good long-term prospective research. This paper is really a call to reseachers to investigate.

    4- Robot-Assisted Placement of Craniofacial Implants. DOWNLOAD. Goal was to create a prosthesis PRIOR to surgery. Fixation and pre-op and op positioning consistency are critical. Patients were able to wear prosthesis immediately following surgery. System not presently feasible for intra-oral implant placement. May have use in placement of zygomatic implant.

    5- Reliability of Preoperative Planning of an Image-Guided System for Oral Implant Placement Based on 3-dimensional Images: An In Vivo Study. DOWNLOAD.  This surgical guide fabricated for use with soft tissue in place only - guide removed before flap was made. Only initial 1.5mm "pilot" drill utilized template. Study showed that an accurate guide could be produced from 3-D imaging.

    6- Long-term Evaluation of Submerged and Nonsubmerged ITI Solid-Screw Titanium Implants: A 10-year Life Table Analysis of 468 Implants.  DOWNLOAD.  Not a great number of cases considering length of time of study. Prospective portion of study was not standardized.

    7- Immediate Placement of Implants into Periodontally Infected Sites in Dogs. Part 2: A Fluorescence Microscopy Study.  DOWNLOAD. Conclusion: OK to place implant in periodontally involved sites IN DOGS, difficult to extrapolate this conclusion to humans. Ligature-induced "periodontitis" is more truely a plaque-induced inflammation which heals quickly when ligature is removed - not an accurate model for human periodontitis.

    8- In Vitro Study on Passive Fit in Implant-Supported 5-unit Fixed Partial Dentures. DOWNLOAD. FPD's in this study were a combination of screw-retained at one end and cement-retained on the other end . . . hard to imagine the advantages of this design in real life.

    9- Immediate Loading of 190 Endosseous Dental Implants: A Prospective Observational Study of 40 Patient Treatments with up to 2-year Data.  DOWNLOAD. Only a 2-year study, most problems start at 5 years. Poor study design - mixed several types of cases . . . fully edentulous, partially edentulous, etc. Protocol
    (undersized osteotomy) could induce osteonecrosis - a problem which would not show sequelae until 5 years later. Study used a new implant system from South Africa.

    10- A Customized Distraction Device for Alveolar Ridge Augmentation and Alignment of Ankylosed Teeth. DOWNLOAD. "Hardware" for this procedure is quite bulky, but the treatment time is very short: 8-10 days. Patients do not have to put up with inconvenience for a great length of time. Technique provides solution in situations that previously had few or no solutions. Example: extraction of ankylosed tooth normally results in huge bone defect. This technique can reposition an ankylosed tooth (or malpositioned implant). Has tremendous potential.

    11- Cement- and Screw-Retained Implant-Supported Prostheses: Up to 10 Years of Follow-up of a New Design. DOWNLOAD.  Stress-induced strain is present in all restorations (including cement-retained) . . . there is no such thing as a completely passive fit. It is important to be as careful and precise as possible throughout restoration process to minimize strain. Complications from stress and strain may not show up until yeras after restoration.

    12- Biomechanical comparison of straight and staggered implant placement configurations.  DOWNLOAD. In staggered arrangement, middle implant takes most of vertical load (similar to pier abutment in tooth-supported FPD). This paper seems to be biased against staggered or tripod arrangement. Originsl concept of tripod (Bo Rangart) was based on prosthetic considerations. Keep in mind: bone remodels, resin models do not. Bottom line: don't go out on a limb surgically to achieve tripodization - it may not be necessary.