Nearly 40 years after receiving single dental implants, a follow-up study has found that a small group of patients still have their implants intact.
Published in Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research, the study reports a cumulative survival rate of 95.6 per cent for the implants and 60.9 per cent for the implant-supported crowns after 38 to 40 years in function. The patients had received their single implants between 1982 and 1985.
While most studies on single implants track outcomes for five to 10 years, researchers highlight the importance of long-term data, particularly for younger patients who will need their implants to last for decades.
Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark and his colleagues were among the first to document and clinically follow up on early implant patients to confirm the treatment’s efficacy. A three-year prospective study at the Brånemark Clinic in Gothenburg followed the first 16 patients worldwide to receive Brånemark single implants.
“Now, close to 40 years later, almost all of the patients have been re-evaluated, providing us with long-term outcome data on these treatments,” the researchers wrote.
The study builds on Brånemark’s groundbreaking research at the University of Gothenburg, where he discovered how bone integrates with titanium implants. His findings have enabled millions of patients to replace lost teeth with a reliable, long-lasting solution.
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