Dental Implants Can Serve For More Than 40 Years: Research Revealed

Dental implantation is one of the most significant achievements of this field of medicine, as it significantly improves patients' quality of life and satisfaction. Modern dental implants are very robust and can provide individuals with chew function that is not worse than in real teeth, and in some cases even better, considering that they could not have the tooth cavity!

But how durable are they? Recent research from the University of Gothenburg demonstrated that a typical implant can effectively serve you for about 40 years! The only thing patients need to change sometimes – is dental crowns.

Research details

This paper is a 40-year follow-up of the study that started in 1982 – 13 participants with 18 implants were involved in the published paper. Researchers examined them and assessed graphical data using 3D imaging software. Additionally, specialists surveyed them to receive data about their medical history.

Results exceeded all estimations – alter 38-40 years after the implantation:

95.6% of implants retained their full functionality.
60.9% of original crowns remained

Also, participants demonstrated stable bone levels without a case of significant bone loss or other dysfunctions.

Jan Kowar, a prosthodontist from the University of Gothenburg and a research co-author, explained why 39% of crowns were changed: "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."

Why it's important

This research – is one more factor that you may and should use when explaining a treatment plan to the patient before the implantation – recently, we published a "blueprint" for that purpose.

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