Modified recommendations regarding patient treatment protocol for immediate loading, derived from the patient study
The results of the animal experiments were reviewed critically to derive from them a number of recommendations as to the loading regimes that oral implants should be subjected to shortly after implantation in order to avoid adverse bone reaction, or even in order to stimulate the osseointegration process. These recommendations were integrated into a protocol for a pilot study on patients with a limited number of patients. The patients were given guidelines as to the best type of food to be eaten, and the chewing habits that are preferable. A number of ten patients was foreseen.
The results of the follow-up of the ten patients were interpreted together with the results of the animal experiments. A final recommendation was made as to the optimal bone loading protocol that has to be recommended to patients after one stage placement of their implant and immediate loading with an oral prosthesis.
The prescribed oral rehabilitation protocol, specifying food, behaviour, oral hygiene etc. for control patients resulted in zero failures after 1 year of loading. Animal experiments proved that mechanical loading has no negative outcome for the healing of the freshly installed implants. On the contrary, there was an increase in peri-implant bone mass observed in directly loaded implants.
These results enhance the scientific basis for the clinical immediate loading protocol.