Macro design morphology of endosseous dental implants.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The identification of dental implant bodies in patients without available records is a considerable problem due to increased patient mobility and to the large number of implant systems with different designs. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to document the designs of selected implants to help clinicians identify these implants from their radiographic images. MATERIAL AND METHODS More than 50 implant manufacturers were contacted and asked to provide implants with dimensions as close as possible to 3.75 mm (diameter) x 10 mm (length). Forty-four implants were donated, separated into threaded and non-threaded categories, and further sorted into tapered and non-tapered categories. The implants were examined visually, and features on the entire circumference and length of each implant were recorded and categorized as coronal, midbody, or apical. RESULTS A series of tables describe the 44 implants according to coronal, midbody, and apical features. CONCLUSION The results of this project offer dentists basic knowledge of the design of selected dental implants. Such knowledge can aid the radiographic identification of these implants.