Radiographic evaluation of marginal bone levels around dental implants with different designs after 1 year

Objective. The aim of this study was to use intra-oral radiographs to evaluate changes in marginal bone levels around three different implant designs after 1 year. Materials and methods. Three implant designs; two with a straight and one with a conical design, were placed adjacent to each other in the partially edentulous areas of 25 patients. The patients received 46 implants with a straight design (All fit SSO and SPI-element) and 29 implants with a conical design (SPI-contact). Two-way repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the marginal bone changes in each group at 12 months follow-up (p < 0.05). Results. None of the implants had failed by the end of this study. After 12 months, significant differences were noted in the amount of alveolar bone loss recorded between the All fit SSO and SPI implants (p < 0.05). Mean crestal bone loss was 0.88 +/- 0.43 mm for the All fit, 0.61 +/- 0.34 mm for the SPI contact and 0.54 +/- 0.27 mm for the SPI element implants. Conclusions. The results of this study demonstrate that straight (cylindrical) implants with shorter high polish surface displayed less bone resorption.