Soft tissue conditions and marginal bone levels of implants with a laser-microtextured collar: a 5-year, retrospective, controlled study

AimTo compare clinical and radiographic outcomes of implants with a Laser-Lok (R)-microtextured collar to implants with a resorbable blast textured (RBT) collar after a 5-year follow-up period. Materials and methodsThirty-four implants with a Laser-Lok (R)-microtextured collar (test group [TG]) and 31 implants with an RBT collar (control group [CG]) were placed in 45 non-smoking, periodontally healthy patients. The full-mouth plaque score, full-mouth bleeding score, number of sites with plaque, and the number of sites with bleeding on probing (BOP) were recorded at baseline, and at 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year follow-up. Probing depth (PD) and mucosal recession were assessed at baseline and after the 5-year follow-up period. The radiographic marginal bone loss (MBL) was calculated by subtracting the bone level at the time of crown insertion from the bone level at the 5-year follow-up. ResultsAn implant survival rate of 94% and of 90% was reported for the TG and the CG, respectively. No statistical differences were found between the study groups for presence of plaque (10.1% vs. 25%) or for number of sites with BOP (10.3% vs. 23%). The differences between both study groups were statistically significant for mean MBL (0.810.24 vs. 2.02 +/- 0.32mm), mean PD (2.32 +/- 0.44 vs. 4.25 +/- 0.87mm), and mean mucosal recession (0.16 +/- 0.3 vs. 0.22 +/- 0.3mm). ConclusionsWithin the limitations of this study, results suggest that the laser-microtextured implant collar surface may provide more favorable conditions for the attachment of hard and soft tissues, and reduce the level of MBL.