Survival and success of sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched and titanium plasma-sprayed implants: a retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this open, retrospective, nonrandomized study was to evaluate survival and success rates for sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched (SLA) and titanium plasma-sprayed (TPS) implants placed by a single practitioner. The secondary objectives included evaluation of crestal bone loss and adverse events. MATERIALS AND METHODS Implants were placed by a single practitioner between April 1994 and December 2005. All clinical data, including information about adverse events, were entered into an electronic database. Outcomes were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier survival and life table analyses. RESULTS Over the study period, 342 patients received a total of 836 implants, comprising 533 SLA and 303 TPS implants. Maximum and median follow-up times were 7.2 and 0.8 years, respectively, for patients with SLA implants and 9.7 and 4.6 years, respectively, for those with TPS implants. A greater proportion of SLA implants than TPS implants were placed in type IV bone. Overall, 807 (96.5%) of the implants met the survival criteria, and 795 (95.1%) were classified as successful. Failure rates were 2.6% (14/533) for SLA implants and 5.0% (15/303) for TPS implants. Early failure rates (less than 1 year after implantation) were 2.1% (11/533) for SLA implants and 3.0% (9/303) for TPS implants. Kaplan-Meier survival and life table analyses showed similar cumulative survival rates for the 2 types of implants at up to 5 years. Crestal bone loss was more common with TPS implants than with SLA implants, affecting 27 (8.9%) of the TPS implants and 14 (2.6%) of the SLA implants. Complication rates were 7.7% (41/533) for the SLA implants and 13.5% (41/303) for the TPS implants. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS SLA and TPS implants had similarly good clinical outcomes in this retrospective study, but the frequency of crestal bone loss was lower among the SLA implants. Continued observation of SLA implants is required to confirm these findings over the long term.