Use of endosseous one piece yttrium sabilized zirconia dental implants in premolar region : a two-year clinical preliminare report

AIM: The aim of this work was to clinically and radiographically evaluate survival and success rate of zirconia dental implants positioned in premolar area during a follow-up period of at least 12 months up to 24 months. METHODS:Sixteen patients were treated with 26 zirconia implants. All implants received immediate temporary restorations and 6 months after surgery were definitively restored. Twelve to 14 months after implant insertion, a clinical-radiographical evaluation was performed in order to estimate peri-implant tissues health and peri-implant marginal bone loss. RESULTS:The survival rate was 96.16%. The success rate was 91.6%. CONCLUSION:Because of the limited number of implants, conclusions may not be considered significant even if results are encouraging. Further scientific information regarding clinical use of zirconia dental implants are needed, as well as prospective long-term clinical studies in order to understand if zirconia implants may represent a valid alternative to titanium implants.