Immediate Loading - Immediate Restoration - Immediate Implant Placement

Topics of the Roundtable Discussion

• Immediate loading
• Immediate implant placement
• Implantation in fresh alveoli
• TAlveolar resorption
• Resorption protection

Contents
Immediate loading of implants in edentulous regions of the jaw, especially the anterior mandible, is a procedure that has been successfully used for many years. In the mandible, the reliability of success of this technique appears to be founded on 1) the stability of the mandibular cortical and cancellous bone structure, which ensures good initial implant stability, and 2) on the ability of the implant to achieve adequate interlock with bone, which is essential for the implant to withstand functional loading.
Immediate loading of implants in the maxilla must be scrutinized more critically. This is underscored by the lower number of clinical studies on immediate loading in the maxilla compared to the mandible. Nonetheless, recent studies permit the conclusion that immediate loading concepts can be successfully implemented if there is suffi cient primary stability, that is, if the bone structure of the upper jaw is stable; here, too, the question of secondary interlock by the prosthetic device is also of particular importance.
The signifi cance of immediate loading strategies results from two main advantages: not only do they subject the patient to much shorter treatment times, thus reducing the stress of treatment, but they also permit early masticatory function, thus halting the process of alveolar resorption. This is especially relevant in cases where implants are placed in fresh alveolar sockets of patients with regular hard and soft tissue structures in the alveolar process.