Today, dental implants are widely used in the treatment of missing teeth
15. Retrospective evaluation of the clinical applications of dental implants, which have been used for a long time, is very valuable in terms of guiding physicians
16. The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic and clinical data of the patients operated on and the implants applied at the Dicle University Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery between the years 2018 and 2020. The need for implant treatment is related to age in proportion to tooth loss. A study on this subject conducted by Vehemente et al.
15 reported the mean age as 53.5 years and that the age range varied between 16-92. In a similar study, Brennan et al.
17 reported the mean age as 53.4 years, the age group most frequently implanted as 40-60 years, followed by the 20-40 age group and then the 60-80 age group. In a study by Eltaş et al.
18, the mean age was reported as 45.2 years and the age range was reported to vary between 20-78 years. In a study by Bural et al.
19, the mean age was reported as 52.12 years and the most common dental implant applied age range was reported respectively as 50-59 years (30.8% of implants), 60-65 years (25.2% of implants), and 40-49 years (20.7% of implants). In the study where Mundt
20 reported the special application results of 663 implants in 159 patients, the mean age was reported as 54 years. In a study where 182 dental implants in 58 patients were evaluated, Sarı et al.
21 reported the mean age as 52.43±13 years. In addition, the age range for which dental implants were most frequently applied was determined as 56-65 years, and the age range for which dental implants were least applied was determined as 18-25 years. In a study by Polat et al.
22, the mean age and age range were reported respectfully as 51.7 years and 18-70 years in women, and 51.2 years and 22-75 years in men. In a study by Urvasızoglu et al.
16, the mean age was reported as 41.1 years and the age range for which dental implants were most frequently applied was 46-55 years, followed by the 36-45 age range. When the age ranges of the individuals included in the present study were examined, it was seen that the most frequently implanted age range was 46-55 years, and the mean age was 54. The reason for this difference was thought to be the size difference of the patient population and study sample.
When the edentulous status of the patients included in the present study were examined; it was observed that the most common condition was partial edentulism with a toothless ending (65%). In a similar retrospective study, Urvasızoglu et al.16 reported that the most frequently applied dental implants were to partially edentulous patients. In the 2013 study by Bural et al.19, it was reported that the majority of the placed dental implants were for the treatment of complete edentulism (48.2% of implants), followed by partial edentulism (23.2% of implants). In the 2019 study by Polat et al.22, it was reported that 80% of the placed dental implants were for partial edentulism treatment. In the 2022 study by Sarı et al.21, it was reported that 61% of the placed dental implants were for the treatment of partial edentulism with a toothless ending. On the other hand, in the Bornstein et al.23 study, the most common implant indication was found to be a single missing tooth. Although the present study is in line with the literature, these differences in implant treatment indications can be attributed to patients' preference for dental implant treatment for different reasons (chewing, aesthetic, retention, protection of adjacent teeth, etc.).
In the present study, it was determined that of the 470 dental implants placed, 56.1% were placed in the upper jaw and 43.9% were placed in the lower jaw. Sarı et al.21 reported that of the 182 dental implants placed, 54.4% were placed in the upper jaw and 45.6% were placed in the lower jaw. In a 2018 study by Adalı et al.14, it was reported that 51.6% of the placed dental implants were localized in the upper jaw and 48.3% were localized in the lower jaw. Urvasızoglu et al.16 reported that of the 233 dental implants placed, 53.2% were placed in the upper jaw and 46.8% were placed in the lower jaw. In another study conducted by Urvasızoğlu et al.24 in 2019, it was reported that 52.4% of the 498 dental implants were placed in the upper jaw and 47.6% were placed in the lower jaw. In the study of Polat et al.22, it was determined that 56.2% of the 315 dental implants were applied to the upper jaw and 43.8% were applied to the lower jaw. The findings are in line with the present study.
It was determined that 34% of the implants applied in the present study were applied to the aesthetic region and 66% were applied to the posterior region. Vehemente et al.15 showed in a study that there was a higher rate of implant application in the posterior area, similar to the present study. Sarı et al.21 reported that 28.5% of the implants were localized in the anterior region and 71.5% were localized in the posterior region. In a study by Urvasızoglu et al.16, it was reported that 40% of the placed dental implants were localized in the esthetic region and 60% were localized in the posterior region. In the study by Polat et al.22, it was determined that 28.2% of the placed dental implants were localized in the anterior region and 71.7% were localized in the posterior region. In the study by Adalı et al.14, it was reported that 27.8% of the placed dental implants were localized in the anterior region and 72.1% were localized in the posterior region. These findings are also consistent with the present study. In this study, the greater localization of dental implants in the posterior region can be attributed to the fact that partial edentulism with a toothless ending was reported as the most common implant indication.
In the present study, the mandibular first molar was the most implanted tooth region, followed by the maxillary first molar region. The least implanted area was the mandibular incisor region. In a study conducted by Sarı et al.21, it was reported that the mandibular canine tooth was the most implanted tooth region, and the maxillary lateral tooth region was the least implanted tooth region. In a study by Urvasızoglu et al.16, the most implanted area was reported as the mandibular 1st molar region, followed by the maxillary 1st molar region. The least implanted area was reported as the lower anterior region.16 In the present study, the most frequent implantation being to the mandibular first molar region is attributed to these teeth being the earliest permanent teeth, tooth loss caused by clinical factors, frequent tooth decay and periodontal diseases or traumatic factors of the first molars. In a study on this issue, Akın et al. 25 reported that the most frequently lost tooth was tooth number 18, followed by the first molars.
When the results of the present study were evaluated; longer and narrower diameter implants (mean implant diameter 3.5 mm, average implant length 11.5 mm) were shown to be used in the esthetic area while shorter and larger diameter implants (mean implant diameter 3.85 mm, average implant length) 10.6 mm) were shown to be preferred in the posterior area. The maxillary sinus for the posterior maxilla and the mandibular canal for the posterior mandible are anatomical limitations in the posterior region for dental implant surgery.26,27 This is thought to be the reason for the use of shorter and larger diameter implants applied to the posterior region. A study by Sarı et al.21 reported that the mean implant diameters of the placed implants were 4.12±0.21 mm in the anterior region, and 4.18±0.13 mm in the posterior region, while the mean implant lengths of the placed implants were 11.10±0.88 mm in the anterior region and 10.33±0.71 mm in the posterior region. In the study of Urvasızoğlu et al.16 it was reported that the mean implant diameter was 3.6 mm in the anterior region, 3.9 mm in the posterior region, and the mean implant length was 12.0 mm in the anterior region and 10.7 mm in the posterior region. When the most commonly used implant diameters and lengths were evaluated in the study by Polat et al.22, the values were reported at different rates as 3.0-3.8 mm (80.9%) and 10-12 mm (51.7%) in the anterior region, while they were 3.0-3.8 mm (49.1%) mm and 10-12 mm (65.5%) in the posterior region.
Dental implants continue to be applied as the best and most reliable treatment in regaining the lost function and aesthetics of missing teeth. As a result, dental implant surgery is applied in a wide age range and with different indications. In this study, it was reported that the age range for which dental implants were most frequently applied was 46-55 years, and the most common implant indication was partial edentulism with a toothless ending. The most common dental implant areas were determined as the mandibular first molar and maxillary first molar tooth regions. In the light of the data, it can be thought that retrospective studies on dental implant treatment will provide informative and guiding results and guide physicians to minimize complications and failures in implant surgeries. However, it is anticipated that larger, multicenter and multidisciplinary studies are needed.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
