Immediate Loading Protocols Increase The Risk Of Failure Of Implants Placed By Fully Guided Surgery In Partially Edentulous Jaws: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Aim To compare the 1-year outcomes of immediate loading (IL) and delayed loading (DL) protocols for implants placed by fully guided surgery in partially edentulous jaws. Materials and Methods This study included 72 patients who received implant surgery with either IL (93 implants, 36 patients) or DL (94 implants, 26 patients). A prefabricated provisional prosthesis was delivered immediately for the IL group (86 implants, 32 patients) with the exception of 4 subjects in whom an initial torque of >20 Ncm and an implant stability quotient of >65 were not achieved, while all DL-group implants were loaded after 3 months. The 1-year implant survival rate estimated by intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses, and the marginal bone loss (MBL) estimated by cone-beam computed tomography were statistically evaluated (p < 0.05). Results The survival rate in the DL group was 100% at both patient and implant levels. With only 26 subjects with 78 implants surviving in the IL group, the survival rates were 69.4% and 83.4% at the patient and implant levels, respectively, in the ITT analysis, and 78.1% and 90.2% in the PP analysis. All intergroup differences in survival rates were statistically significant (p < 0.01). MBL was less than 0.1 mm in both groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions IL for implants placed by fully guided surgery in the partially edentulous jaws increased the probability of failure compared to 3-month DL. Regardless of when loading occurred, marginal bone levels remained stable.