Immediate restoration of single tapered implants with nonoccluding provisional crowns: a 5-year clinical prospective study

Background: Dental literature has limited number of publications regarding long-term outcome data of immediate restoration of single missing teeth with an implant-supported provisional crown.

Purpose: This 5-year study evaluated hard and soft tissue responses to the immediate placement of single implant-supported provisional crowns.

Materials and methods: Twenty patients received one dental implant restored immediately with a provisional acrylic resin screw-retained crown. Crestal bone loss was evaluated from standardized periapical radiographs collected at 3-month intervals for the first 21 months followed by a 5-year evaluation. Historical controls acquired from available dental literature were used for comparison.

Results: One implant failed within 2 months of surgical placement, presenting with pain and mobility. The remaining implants demonstrated no infection, pain, or radiolucencies. Nineteen implants were clinically immobile, osseointegrated, and asymptomatic at 21 months. At 5 years, one patient died, three patients were noncompliant, and 15 implants were evaluated as functional. Mean bone loss (MBL) at 1 year and 21 months was approximately 0.5 ± 0.5 mm and 0.70 ± 0.26 mm at 5 years. There was no statistically significant difference between MBLs at p < 0.05.

Conclusions: Immediate provisionalization of single dental implants compares favorably with conventional loading protocols. Long-term data suggest that immediate provisionalization of single dental implants is a viable treatment option.