Cumulative success rate and marginal bone loss for immediate and early loading protocols in a single implant-supported crown: A randomized controlled split-mouth clinical trial.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: New loading protocols with reduced treatment time have gained popularity because of their advantages. However, whether the success rate with immediate loading (IL) is worse than with early loading (EL) is still unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this randomized controlled trial with a split-mouth design was to evaluate the marginal bone loss and the cumulative success rate (CSR) 1 year after an IL protocol in single implant-supported crowns. The test groups were loaded after less than 24 hours (test group) and EL at 60 days (control group). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventeen participants received 34 implants. The recall appointments were at baseline, 30 days, 60 days, and 1 year. The outcome measures evaluated were pain, implant clinical mobility, probing depth measurements, peri-implant disease, marginal bone loss, implant insertion torque, implant stability quotient (ISQ) value, and the CSR. A 2-way repeated measures ANOVA identified the significant differences for probing depth and ISQ. A 3-way repeated measures ANOVA followed by a pairwise t test analyzed marginal bone loss, and a nonparametric Wilcoxon test analyzed insertion torque (alpha=.05). RESULTS: No differences were found between the insertion torque, ISQ, and marginal bone loss values (P>.05). When analyzing probing depth, no differences were found when comparing IL versus EL at baseline, 30 days, and 1 year (P>.05). The global CSR was 91.17%, 88.23% for the IL group and 94.11% for the EL group. CONCLUSIONS: When analyzing marginal bone loss, the groups were similar. The global CSR was 91.17%, 88.23% for the IL group, and 94.11% for the EL group.