Five-year study on short posterior dental implants

Clébio Domingues da Silveira Júnior; Morgana Guilherme de Castro Silverio; Rafael Zetehaku Araújo; Helder Henrique Machado de  Menezes; Flávio Domingues das Neves

doi:10.4322/bds.2026.e4991

Authors

Clébio Domingues da Silveira Júnior Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Escola Técnica de Saúde. Uberlândia, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3442-5700
Morgana Guilherme de Castro Silverio Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Escola Técnica de Saúde. Uberlândia, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0352-7946
Rafael Zetehaku Araújo Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Faculdade de Odontologia. Uberlândia, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2893-0408
Helder Henrique Machado de Menezes HD Ensinos Odontologicos. Uberlândia, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3775-045X
Flávio Domingues das Neves Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Faculdade de Odontologia. Uberlândia, MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8676-302X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4322/bds.2026.e4991

Abstract

Background: Short implants allow dental rehabilitation of patients with insufficient bone volume, avoiding reconstructive surgeries and reducing treatment time, morbidity and costs. Objective: Considering implant design, surface and prosthetic connection, the hypothesis tested is that short Neodent Titamax WS implants present success rates similar to those of conventional implants, even when used for single crowns. Material and Methods: Eighteen patients with posterior edentulism and maximum bone height of 7mm and width of 6mm were selected. Peri-implant bone level, crown/implant ratio and the crown’s mesiodistal distance were the quantitative variables studied. Vertical and horizontal peri-implant bone losses were measured up to 5 year-follow up in 4 different periods. Results: Of the total 20 implants placed, only 1 was lost due to lack of osseointegration and a success rate over the 5-year follow-up period of 95%. There was no statistically significant association between vertical bone loss and crown/implant ratio (P = 0.530) or mesio-distal width (P = 0.378). Conclusion: The short implants studied in this work showed a success rate and vertical peri-implant bone loss greater than or equal to the indexes found for regular implants in the literature. The different proportions of implant length and crown did not have any effect on bone loss. For short implants, morse connect may be favorable. Placement of Neodent WS implants (and similar implants) in an intra-osseous protocol and not at bone level needs further investigation because it might present better results in regard to vertical bone loss over time.

KEYWORDS

Alveolar ridge augmentations; Clinical study; Dental implant; Dental prosthesis; Single-tooth implant.