The Up-to-14-Year Survival and Complication Burden of 256 TiUnite Implants Supporting One-Piece Cast Abutment/Metal-Ceramic Implant-Supported Single Crowns

To assess the estimated cumulative survival (ECS) and explore the technical and biologic complications of 256 TiUnite implants (Nobel Biocare) supporting one-piece cast abutment/ metal-ceramic implant-supported single crowns (ISCs) in situ for up to 14 years. Materials and Methods: A prospective sequentially recruited cohort of 207 patients received 256 metal-ceramic ISCs on TiUnite implants between 2001 and 2014. All but 24 patients with 27 crowns were clinically evaluated between January 2014 and April 2015 in conjunction with or in addition to their tailored maintenance program. Radiographs were obtained, and any previously recorded treatments associated with the crowns were tabulated. The ECS and standard errors were calculated with the life table actuarial method and Greenwood's formula, respectively. The log rank test was applied to assess differences between anterior and posterior crowns. Complication incidence, severity, and economic burden, measured in time/cost accounting units (TAUs), were tallied and compared descriptively. Independent groups were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test and related groups with the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Results: The mean clinical service time of the crowns was 5.61 years (44 >= 10 years). The 14-year ECS was 95.95% +/- 3.20% with no significant difference between anterior and posterior prostheses. Only seven implants lost marginal bone >= one thread from the time of crown insertion. There were 30 nonterminal complications (16 biologic, 14 mechanical). The associated economic burden was low (n = 35 TAUs). Conclusion: High gold-alloy one-piece cast abutment/ metal-ceramic ISCs on TiUnite implants exhibited excellent longevity and few complications over 14 years.