Immediate Functional Loading of Posterior Implants Placed in Partially Edentulous Patients: A Preliminary Report on a Prospective Clinical Study

The goal of this study was to investigate outcomes of implants placed in the partially edentulous posterior maxilla and mandible and restored with two- to four-unit fixed prostheses that were functionally loaded immediately after implant placement. Forty-nine patients were treated, and 63 fixed prostheses were inserted on 140 implants. After an average of 8.6 months of follow-up, 2 implants failed-a cumulative success rate of 98.6%. These preliminary results support other findings that suggest patients with maxillary and mandibular partial posterior edentulism can confidently be treated with immediately loaded dental implants.