Short (<10 mm) dental implants placed in the partially edentulous patient

Aim: This systematic review assessed the implant survival rate of short (<10 mm) dental implants installed in partially edentulous patients. A case report of a short implant in the posterior region have been added.

Materials and methods: A search was conducted in the electronic databases of MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify eligible studies. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality using specific study design-related quality assessment forms.

Results: 29 methodologically acceptable studies could be selected reporting on 2611 short implants (lengths 5-9.5 mm) placed in the partially edentulous patients. An increase in implant length was associated with an increase in implant survival (from 93.1 % to 98.6 %). Heterogeneity between studies was explored by subgroup analyses. The cumulative estimated failure rate of studies performed in the maxilla was 0.010 implants/year, compared with 0.003 found in the studies in the mandible. For studies that also included smokers, the failure rate was 0.008 compared with 0.004 found in studies that excluded smokers. Surface topography and augmentation procedure were not sources of heterogeneity.

Conclusion: There is fair evidence that short (<10 mm) implants can be successfully placed in the partially edentulous patient, though with an increasing survival rate per implant length and the prognosis may be better in the mandible of non smoking patients.