Immediate Versus Early Nonocclusal Loading of Dental Implants Placed with a Flapless Procedure in Partially Edentulous Patients: Preliminary Results from a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The aim of this randomized controlled clinical trial was to compare the efficacy of implants placed with a flapless procedure and restored immediately (test group) or early (6 weeks) (control group) in partially edentulous patients up to 1 year after loading. Both groups were nonocclusally loaded. Ten patients were included in each group. No patients dropped out and no failures were recorded. Two complications occurred in the early loading group, but both were resolved. It can be concluded that the use of a flapless technique for placing implants in conjunction with nonocclusal immediate loading in select patients can provide excellent clinical results. These preliminary findings should be confirmed by larger randomized clinical trials. (Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent 2008;28:453-459.)