Purpose: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the medium-term (3-year) overall survival and success rates, marginal bone loss and different biological parameters displayed with one-piece zirconia implants.
Materials and methods: Electronic searches were conducted of the MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus (Elsevier), Cochrane Library (Wiley) and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) databases and manual searching was also performed for relevant articles published up to 14 November 2022. The review included human studies with a minimum of 10 subjects and/or 20 implants and with a follow-up period of at least 3 years after implant placement.
Results: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria and were included for analysis, giving a total of 1,621 one-piece zirconia implants. Eleven studies were included to perform a meta-analysis of survival rates, and six for success rates and marginal bone loss. The survival and success rates at the 3-year follow-up were 94.4% (95% confidence interval 90.4%–98.4%; P < 0.001) and 91.6% (95% confidence interval 84.2%–98.9%; P < 0.001), respectively, and marginal bone loss was 0.231 mm (95% confidence interval 0.190–0.272; P < 0.001).
Conclusions: One-piece zirconia implants appear to be a reliable option for restoring missing teeth, obtaining an implant survival rate of 94.4% and a success rate of 91.6% after a follow-up period of at least 3 years. Moreover, the results showed acceptable rates of marginal bone loss and adequate biological parameters.