The study is the longest follow-up study of single dental implants and is based on a follow-up of a small group of patients who received single implants to replace missing teeth between 1982 and 1985. After nearly forty years, all examined implants were still in place and fully functional.
The research has been published in the scientific journal Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research.
Stable implants
Of the 16 patients who received implants during the study period, 13 participated in the follow-up, conducted at the Brånemark Clinic, Public Dental Service Västra Götaland. These 13 patients had a total of 18 implants.
Sargon Barkarmo, prosthodontist and senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, said, "It is impressive that the single implants function so well after such a long time. Even though the study included a small number of patients, the results show that the implants remain in place and that the bone loss around them is virtually unchanged after forty years.”
However, the crowns placed on the implants had a shorter lifespan than the implants themselves. At the forty-year follow-up, only about 60 per cent of the original crowns remained, with many having been replaced one or more times.
Jan Kowar, prosthodontist, senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, and co-author of the study, said, "The study shows that the crowns were mostly replaced for aesthetic reasons rather than technical failures. In the future, implant treatments could be further improved with the development of new crown materials."
Implants and healing
The study concluded that implants placed using well-planned surgical techniques and given sufficient healing time have an excellent long-term prognosis.
The researchers highlighted that older implant systems, which have been shown to be highly effective, are unfortunately no longer available on the market. This is due to the continuous introduction of new systems that quickly replace older ones, despite their proven long-term success.
Sargon concluded, "Today, methods that accelerate treatment and healing are commonly used. These approaches also need long-term follow-ups and careful evaluation to ensure equally good results over time.”