26-year follow-up of screw-retained fixed dental prostheses supported by machined-surface Brånemark implants: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Rough-surface implants have become very popular during the last 10 years due to greater reported bone-implant-contact and bone volume between implant threads compared to machined-surface implants. PURPOSE: The aim of this clinical report is to present the 26-year clinical outcomes of machined-surface implants supporting screw-retained fixed dental prostheses in a 77-year-old woman. A 51-year-old woman received five mandibular and six maxillary implants supporting screw-retained fixed dental prostheses. The original machined-surface regular platform Branemark implants were placed using a two-stage surgical approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: No implants were lost, and average marginal bone levels between the implant platform and the first bone-implant contact for maxillary and mandibular implants were 3.3 +/- 0.6 mm and 1.7 +/- 0.3 mm after 26 years. The following prosthetic complications were recorded during the follow up period; a) broken acrylic denture tooth (four times), b) loose prosthetic screw (three times), c) loose abutment screw (two times). CONCLUSION: This case report shows that machined-surface dental implants can successfully support screw-retained fixed dental prostheses over 26 years, which makes dental implants an important dental treatment option compared to the traditional prosthetic treatment methods, especially in elderly edentulous patients.