Radiographic bone density around immediately loaded oral implants

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyze the bone density around immediately loaded oral implants by a new volumetric CT scan (Maxiscan) and to compare it with that of unloaded implants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four patients with an age range from 44 to 65 years old were selected for this study. All the patients needed a prosthetic rehabilitation in partially edentulous posterior maxillas or mandibles. A total of 12 oral implants were placed in the four patients. Six of these implants were immediately loaded while six were left unloaded. Six months after placement, immediately loaded and unloaded oral implants were analyzed by a volumetric CT scan. RESULTS: The overall success rate in this study with immediately loaded oral implants was 100%. The radiological assessments showed that the mean densitometric profile, which is a measure of bone mineralization, was higher in the immediately loaded group than in the unloaded group. The differences observed between the two groups of oral implants (immediately loaded and unloaded) were statistically significant (P<0.05). The bone was significantly more dense around immediately loaded than unloaded oral implants on the basis of a radiological assessment. CONCLUSION: The innovative aspect of this clinical study is to propose a new method to analyze the bone density, reducing the need for histological analysis from human biopsy.