The International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants, 01/1986

Criteria for the evaluation of dental implant success are proposed. These criteria are applied in an assessment of the long-term efficacy of currently used dental implants including the subperiosteal implant, the vitreous carbon implant, the blade-vent implant, the single-crystal sapphire implant, theTübingen implant, the TCP-implant, the TPS-screw, the ITI hollow-cylinderimplant, the IMZ dental implant, the Core-Vent titanium alloy implant, thetransosteal mandibular staple bone plate, and the Brånemark osseointegrated titanium implant. An attempt has been made to standardize the basis for comments on each type of implant.

Utilization of osseointegrated fixtures to support skin penetrating abutments and facial prostheses offers significant advantages. Clinical experience at Göteborg, Sweden, and the University of Texas at San Antonio is reported.

An improved method for preparing ground tissue-implant sections of good quality for light microscopy is presented. The specimen is embedded in methacrylate and cut using a diamond wafering saw. The cut surface is polished and stained with Stevenel's blue and a glass microscope slide is glued to the surface of the specimen using epoxy resin adhesive. A section is prepared, reduced to 30 to 50 µm using petrographic grinding techniques and protected by a glass coverslip. This method provides high quality sections in which fine tissue architecture, cellular detail, and the tissue-implant interface are preserved.

Osseointegrated fixtures used to support a variety of fixed partial dentures, both freestanding and attached via nonrigid connections, have proven to be of therapeutic value in approximately 50 patients over a period of 42 months. Clinical experiences and guidelines for the management of specific patient situations are described.

With the use of a clear splint fabricated from a diagnostic wax-up, implant placement becomes predictable. With this technique the end result of the implant prosthesis is not left to chance, but is preoperatively planned.

Computer-assisted tomography was used to demonstrate bone topography and density in cadavers simulating potential dental implant patients. Results suggest that this radiographic modality could significantly augment or replace existing diagnostic media.