The immediate rehabilitation by means of a ready-made final fixed prosthesis in the edentulous mandible: a 1-year follow-up study on 50 consecutive patients.

Although a two-stage procedure with symphyseal oral implants can lead to a long-term (15 years) 99% cumulative survival rate, a one-stage approach with immediate loading via prefabricated elements seems to offer a short-term acceptable outcome with significantly lower costs. A series of 50 consecutive patients, not eliminated for any systemic or smoking condition, received at the department of periodontology three implants in the symphyseal area, connected by a very rigid horse shoe-shaped titanium bar. A final screw retained prosthetic framework was placed on top of it at the department of prosthetic dentistry within 2 days after surgery (44) or after a delay, due to purely external factors, of up to 10 days (6). Forty-five patients were followed for 1 year. In one patient, all three implants failed and another four patients were lost to follow-up. The cumulative failure rates for implants and prostheses at 1 year were, respectively, 7.3% and 5%. The mean marginal bone loss at 1 year was 1.08 mm (SD: 1.62; range -5.68 to +2.55). This study shows that stable marginal bone levels can be maintained around immediately loaded implants in the lower jaw in an average patient population for at least 1 year. The survival rate is, however, lower than for a staged approach.