The aims of this study were to obtain preliminary data and test the clinical efficacy of a novel nonporous dense-polytetrafluoroethylene (d-PTFE) membrane (permamem^®, botiss) in alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) procedures with a flapless approach. A traumatic extraction was performed in the premolar maxillary area, and a d-PTFE membrane was used to seal the alveolar cavity: no biomaterial was used to graft the socket and the membrane was left intentionally exposed and stabilized with sutures. The membrane was removed after four weeks and dental implants were placed four months after the procedure. The primary outcome variables were defined as the dimensional changes in the ridge width and height after four months. A total of 15 patients were enrolled in this study. The mean width of the alveolar cavity was 8.9 ± 1.1 mm immediately after tooth extraction, while four months later a mean reduction of 1.75 mm was experienced. A mean vertical reduction of 0.9 ± 0.42 mm on the buccal aspect and 0.6 ± 0.23 mm on the palatal aspect were recorded at implant placement. Within the limitations of this study, the d-PTFE membrane proved to be effective in alveolar ridge preservation, with the outcomes of the regeneration not affected by the complete exposure of this biomaterial.

There is a lack of evidence in the attitude and prescribing practice of implantologists in dental implant post-operative assessment; therefore, the aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate these habits and the knowledge about radiographic aspect of retrograde peri-implantitis (RPI) among Italian implantologists. A questionnaire was sent via email to dentists randomly selected from the register of implantology and oral surgery societies. It included three questions: the preferred X-ray after implant placement, the timing of post-operative assessment and the knowledge of the RPI radiographic representation. A final sample of 434 implantologists was included in the study. The majority of them (84.3%) perform a periapical X-ray as control radiograph and picked the correct radiographic representation of RPI (74.3%), without statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) for sex, age, years of working practice and number of implants placed per year. Just 47.7% of dentists perform a control radiograph at prostheses delivery, to establish a proper baseline. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was detectable only for the number of implants placed per year, with dentists placing > 80 implants selecting the correct choice. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to report data on attitude of implantologists in radiographic imaging after implant placement.

Background: Recent articles have hypothesized a possible correlation between dental implants dissolution products and peri-implantitis. The null hypothesis tested in this case-control study was that there would be no differences in salivary concentrations of titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) ions among patients with dental implants, healthy (Group A) or affected by peri-implantitis (Group B), compared to subjects without implants and/or metallic prosthetic restorations (Group C). Methods: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to analyze saliva samples. One-way repeated-measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify statistically significant differences in the salivary level of Ti, V, Ni and As between the three groups. Results: A total of 100 patients were enrolled in the study (42 males and 58 females), distributed in three groups: 50 patients in Group C, 26 patients in Group B and 24 patients Group B. In our study, concentrations of metallic ions were higher in Group A and B, compared to the control group, with the exception of vanadium. However, there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) for metallic ions concentrations between Group A and Group B. Conclusions: Based on our results, there are no differences in titanium or other metals concentrations in saliva of patients with healthy or diseased implants.

Background: Retrograde peri-implantitis (RPI) is a pathological entity with an unclear etiology (e.g., overheating during implant insertion, residual infection of the tooth replaced by the implant or the endodontic lesion of neighboring teeth) and an extremely low prevalence and has been scarcely investigated. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional survey was to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of Italian implantologists regarding RPI. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was sent via email to implantologists randomly selected, including a section about demographic information and questions related to RPI origin, radiographic representation, symptoms and treatment options. All questions were multiple answer and close-ended. Binomial logistic regression was performed to investigate the relationship between correct answers and the following independent variables: age, years of experience and number of dental implants placed per year. Results: In total, 475 implantologists completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 46.3%. Based on the results of the study, incorrect answers were associated with less experienced participants (<80 implants/year) for all questions evaluated, with the exception of treatment strategies. Furthermore, 26.7% of the survey takers did not recognize radiographic representation of RPI and 35.5% picked “implant removal” when asked about treatment modality. Conclusions: The majority of participants were able to recognize symptoms and indicated the probable causes of RPI; however, around 30% of them showed very limited knowledge of available management strategies.

There is a lack of knowledge on the possible influence of systemic conditions on peri-implantitis. The aim of this case-control study is to evaluate the difference in terms of oral pathogens’ concentrations in the peri-implant sulcus of a group of patients affected by metabolic syndrome (Mets) compared to healthy subjects. For each patient, peri-implant sulcular biofilm samples were obtained by inserting two sterile endodontic paper points in the deepest aspect of the peri-implant sulcus for 30 s. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate total bacterial counts of six pathogens. Patients were screened for peri-implant diseases and clinical and radiographic parameters were recorded. A total of 50 patients was enrolled in the study, 25 affected by Mets and 25 healthy. Significantly higher bacterial counts were discovered for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (p = 0.0008), Prevotella intermedia (p = 0.0477) and Staphylococcus aureus (p = 0.034) in MetS patients compared to healthy subjects. Performing a sub-group analysis, considering peri-implant status and dividing patients by MetS diagnosis, no statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences were found. For the first time, a correlation between MetS presence and a greater prevalence of some bacterial species in the peri-implant sulcus was reported, irrespectively from peri-implant status (health vs. disease).

Background: The aims of this study are to retrospectively compare the clinical, radiographic and esthetic outcomes of platform switching (PS) and platform matching (PM) dental implants in the anterior maxilla after ≥ 10 years of functional loading. Methods: Marginal bone loss (MBL) levels were recorded; furthermore, peri-implant clinical parameters (PPD, BOP, PI) were collected and the Pink and White Esthetic scores (PES/WES) were used to evaluate the esthetic outcomes. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were performed to compare collected parameters among the two groups, with a p-value < 0.05. Results: A final sample of 58 patients was enrolled in this study (PM implants = 29; PS implants = 29). PS implants showed lower MBL levels (1.02 ± 0.81 mm vs. 1.67 ± 0.99 mm, p = 0.028) and PPD values (3.69 ± 1.1 vs. 5.16 ± 1.09 mm, p < 0.001) compared to PM implants. Mean PES values were higher in the PS group compared to the PM group (8.46 ± 0.69 vs. 7.89 ± 0.78, p < 0.005), while there were no differences for WES values (7.82 ± 1.09 vs. 7.71 ± 0.85, p > 0.05) and peri-implant diseases’ prevalence (p > 0.05). Conclusions: After 10 years, PS implants showed statistically significant lower MBL and PPD values and higher PES values compared to PM implants.