Immediately Loaded Blade Implant Retrieved From a Man After a 20-year Loading Period: A Histologic and Histomorphometric Case Report
Immediate loading of root-form dental implants has shown promising results and offers treatment cost and convenience advantages to patients. Although blade implants have been immediately loaded for over 2 decades, the ability of this implant design to achieve osseointegration has been debated. The aim of the present study was to histologically evaluate the peri-implant tissues of an immediately loaded blade implant retrieved for abutment fracture after a 20-year loading period. Histologic samples were prepared and examined by light microscope. Compact, cortical, mature bone with well-formed osteons was present at the interface of the implant. Bone-to-implant contact was 51% ± 6%. The histologic data showed that osseointegration was obtained in an immediately loaded blade implant inserted into the mandible, and that mineralized tissues were maintained at the interface over a long period (20 years).Abstract
Contributor Notes
Danilo Di Stefano, MD, DDS, is in private practice in Milano, Italy.
Giovanna Iezzi, DDS, PhD, is a research fellow, Antonio Scarano, DDS, MD, is a researcher, and Vittoria Perrotti, DDS, PhD, is a student in the Dental School, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
Adriano Piattelli, MD, DDS, is a professor of Oral Pathology and Medicine in the Dental School, University of Chieti-Pescara. Address correspondence to Prof Adriano Piattelli, Via F. Schiucchi 63, 66100 Chieti, Italy (apiattelli@unich.it).