Objectives: The main objective of this study was to evaluate clinical and radiographic outcomes of implant-supported fixed partial prostheses, comparing platform switching and standard platform concepts.
Materials and methods: Patients with single or multiple partial edentulism were included in this prospective multicenter study. Success rate, as well as crestal bone loss and occurrence of complications were evaluated over time, for a minimum of 3 years after prosthesis delivery. Radiographic and clinical examination served to evaluate implant and prosthesis conditions.
Results: A total of 51 patients with 117 implants (55 in the centralized platform group and 62 in the standard platform group) were considered in the analysis. After 3 years of loading, the cumulative implant survival in test group was 90.3 %, while in the control group, it was 96.5 % without any statistically significant difference. After 3 years of function, the bone loss was 0.33 ± 0.19 mm in the test group and 0.48 ± 0.26 mm, revealing a significant difference.
Conclusions: Platform switching concept may lead to a reduction of marginal bone loss over time if compared to standardized one. Such effect seemed not to be related to a reduction of overall success rate of the treatment.
Clinical relevance: Platform switching could be a viable prosthetic option for implant treatment of partial edentulism.
Keywords: Bone loss; Bone resorption; Dental implant; Platform switching.