Statement of problem: There is a need for specific documentation that successful osseointegration related to Brânemark implants can be maintained, despite an apparent clinically vulnerable peri-implant soft tissue status.
Purpose: This study monitored longitudinal peri-implant clinical responses in the mandible and sought to question whether a relatively deep mucogingival pocket will give rise to a greater loss of peri-implant bone than a shallow pocket.
Methods and material: Subjects, 8 women patients (mean age 62 years), were treated with Brânemark mandibular osseointegrated implant-supported prostheses. Four of these subjects had limited (average <3.5 mm) and 4 had unlimited (average > or =3.5 mm) peri-implant pocket probing depths and constituted the control and test subgroups, respectively. Longitudinal changes in peri-implant PAL and radiographic bone support were assessed.
Results: Overall probing attachment levels (PALs) of the peri-implant mucogingival complex showed little change. The PAL loss was only minimally significant within the control subjects, and not significant for test subjects. The difference in these mucogingival responses between test and control subjects was significant (P = .04). There was no significant overall longitudinal change in peri-implant bone levels. The longitudinal change of peri-implant bone level was not significant within or between the control and test subjects.