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The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of additional cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging on decreasing the risk of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury during third molar removal in patients at high risk and to assess the surgical outcomes. The study sample included patients considered at high risk for IAN injury based on panoramic radiography (PAN) evaluation. The primary predictor was the type of imaging method (PAN only or with additional CBCT). The other variables were demographic and anatomical/radiographic factors. The primary outcome variable was IAN injury. The secondary outcome variables were the preoperative surgical plan and surgical results including IAN exposure and duration of surgery. The sample comprised 122 patients (139 teeth) aged 18-48 years. Postoperative temporary IAN injury was present in three (4.2%) cases in the CBCT group and 11 (16.4%) in the PAN group at 7 days after surgery. However, none of the patients had a permanent IAN injury at the 6-month follow-up. Additional CBCT imaging was not superior to PAN in reducing IAN injury after third molar surgery during long-term follow-up. Nonetheless, CBCT may decrease the prevalence of temporary IAN injury and improve the surgical outcomes in high-risk patients., (Copyright © 2017 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This retrospective study assessed the success of immediate and non-immediate implants installed in patients undergoing planned extraction of all remaining teeth and rehabilitation with implant-supported full fixed prostheses. Patients in need of dental implants for full fixed prostheses to replace teeth extracted in the maxilla and mandible were included in this study. Dental implants were installed in the same surgical procedure, immediately at the extraction site, or in healed bone. Implant success, complications, and failures were recorded during follow-up. Forty-one patients with 512 implants were included in the study. Healing progressed uneventfully for 501 installed implants, but nine implants were lost in the non-immediate group and two were lost in the immediate group, during a mean follow-up of 44.9 months. All failures in both groups were observed in the maxilla. The success rate was the same in both groups, at 97.8%. This retrospective analysis showed that with thorough patient evaluation, the extraction of all residual teeth and implant installation in a single surgical procedure is a safe and predictable treatment modality for the successful rehabilitation of the edentulous patient with a fixed prosthesis., (Copyright © 2015 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)