Immediate placement in extraction sites followed by immediate loading: a pilot study and case presentation

The purpose of the study was to compare the results of implants immediately loaded in edentulous sites with implants loaded immediately in extraction sites. Since December 1998, we selected a small group of patients for immediate or early loading. Seventy-five implants were placed in nine jaws of seven patients. Two of the patients received implants in both the maxilla and mandible. Of the 75 implants placed, 29 were placed in immediate extraction sites. Twenty-six of the 29 that were placed in immediate extraction sites were loaded in less than 3 weeks. Of the 75 implants placed, 62 were loaded early (less than 3 weeks). Two implants have been lost. The remaining 13 implants were buried and allowed to heal in the customary manner. None of the buried implants failed. One of the implants lost was in an extraction site and one was in a nonextraction site. Of the 33 implants that were placed in edentulous areas and immediately loaded, one was lost. This is compared with the 29 implants placed in extraction sites that were immediately loaded. We conclude that the success rates for implants immediately loaded in extraction sites and edentulous sites are comparable.