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Clinical tests that are commonly used to evaluate tissues surrounding natural teeth are also used in implant dentistry. It is unclear if they are equally valid and reflect the condition of the bone surrounding an implant reliably. This study evaluates the use of a plaque index, a gingiva index, the assessment of a probing depth and the Periotest value and relates the findings to the image on a radiograph in 16 patients, involving 32 IMZ implants. All four clinical tests showed poor sensitivity and, in general, only fair specificity when observations from the image on the radiograph were interpreted as the 'golden standard' for the presence or absence of pathology adjacent to the implant. Frequently, based on any clinical parameter, disease was not diagnosed, while the radiograph did show pathological loss of bone at the bone-implant contact area. It is concluded that the aforementioned parameters are unreliable and unfit for clinical evaluation in implant dentistry. Radiographs are needed to evaluate critical marginal bone changes surrounding dental implants.

This retrospective study aims to investigate and compare the results obtained with the transmandibular implant (TMI) in two different hospital situations. Group I were patients treated in a teaching hospital since 1984 by a varying group of surgeons and prosthodontists with a varying degree of experience with the TMI. Group II were patients treated in 1993 and 1994 by experienced surgeons and prosthodontists in the hospital where the TMI was originally developed. In group I, a relatively high frequency of reversible (45.4%) and irreversible--i.e. implant loss--(15.2%) complications occurred. In group II, no implants were lost and reversible complications were reported in 10.8% of the patients. In general, the patients of both groups were quite satisfied with the result of the treatment. In both groups, limited bone loss around the implant posts could be observed. An increase in the height of the mandibular bone distal of the lateral posts was frequently observed, especially in group II. It is concluded that both very favourable and less favourable results can be obtained with the TMI. In this study the best results are found in a highly specialized TMI centre, where patients are treated--with only uncompromised implant-posts--by a small group of experienced surgeons and prosthodontics with accurate application of the existing guidelines.

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