One hundred patients with totally edentulous mandibles were treated with bar-retained overdentures supported by a total of 340 consecutively placed ITI solid-screw implants. The patients were followed at annual intervals for at least 5 years to evaluate implant success, longitudinal reactions of the peri-implant hard and soft tissues, and incidences of biologic and mechanical complications.
RESULTS:
During the trial period, a total of 4 implants failed, all prior to loading, and 51 implants were lost to follow-up, resulting in a cumulative survival rate of 98.8% after 5 years of functional service. The success analysis included additional strictly defined events (either "first occurrence of marginal bone loss > or = 4 mm" or "first occurrence of pocket depth > or = 4 mm" and "first occurrence of crevicular fluid flow rate > or = 2.5 mm) and resulted in a cumulative 5-year success rate of 95.7%. The median marginal bone loss experienced between implant placement and prosthetic treatment was 0.5 mm, followed by an annual bone level change of 0.1 mm for the functional period of 5 years. The increasing incidence of remarkable plaque deposits from 19% to 50% represented the difficulties of the patients in maintaining a high level of oral hygiene, particularly for the lingual surfaces. Sulcus Bleeding Index, probing depth, attachment level, and crevicular fluid flow rate were used to describe the health of the peri-implant soft tissues and remained almost within acceptable standards.