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Purpose: The use of short implants can reduce the need for augmentative procedures prior to implant placement and, thus, morbidity and treatment time for patients with severely atrophied alveolar ridges. However, the inevitably less favorable crown-to-implant ratio is often associated with higher implant failure rates and greater marginal bone loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term survival and success rates of short implants in severely atrophic alveolar ridges retaining restorations on these short implants only. Materials and Methods: In this study, 8-mm and 9-mm implants were inserted in atrophic alveolar ridges according to the manufacturer's protocol for the respective bone quality and loaded after 3 months of healing. Prosthetic restorations were supported only by short implants (not in combination with longer implants). After a mean observation period of 10.1 years (± 1.9 years), all patients were re-examined clinically and radiographically. Results: In this study, fifty-two 8-mm and 9-mm implants were placed in 14 patients. After 10.1 years, no implants and suprastructures had been lost. A mean marginal bone loss of 0.3 mm (± 0.4 mm) was recorded. According to the Albrektsson criteria, all implants were successful; with respect to the more rigorous Karoussis et al criteria, four implants failed. Conclusions: The results of this long-term study suggest that the use of short implants results in marginal bone resorption and failure rates similar to those for longer implants. The higher crown-to-implant ratio did not seem to have any negative influence on implant success in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess tooth loss in patients with aggressive periodontitis (AgP) 10–35 years after active periodontal therapy (APT) in a private practice and to detect possible factors influencing tooth loss. Material and Methods: In 100 patients with AgP, tooth loss was recorded over a median follow‐up period of 25.5 years after APT, retrospectively. Patient‐ and tooth‐level factors were assessed with a Cox frailty regression model. Results: Of 2,380 teeth, 227 were lost during a median follow‐up time of 25.5 years (2.3 ± 3.6 teeth/patient, range 0–17 teeth), resulting in a mean tooth loss rate of 0.09 teeth/patient/year. At patient‐level, statistically significant factors for tooth loss were smoking (p =.039) and the baseline diagnosis generalized AgP (p <.001). Influencing factors at tooth‐level were location in the maxilla (p =.003), baseline bone loss (p <.001), molars (p <.001) and premolars (p <.001) as well as abutment teeth (p =.009). Conclusion: Tooth loss occurred rarely in patients with AgP treated in a private practice over a long‐time period. Annual tooth loss rates are comparable with those described in university settings. Smoking, generalized form of AgP, location/type of tooth, baseline bone loss and abutment status could be detected as factors impacting upon tooth loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To determine the association between the interleukin (IL)-1-polymorphism and the severity of periodontal disease prior to active periodontal therapy. Materials and methods. Two hundred and six patients with obtained baseline x-rays were tested for IL-1-polymorphism. Relative bone loss before active periodontal treatment was measured with a Schei ruler and classified in five groups. Descriptive statistics and backward stepwise linear regression analyses were performed. Results. Forty-nine patients with moderate (mChP), 79 with severe chronic (sChP) and 78 with aggressive periodontitis (AgP) were included. Age correlated significantly with bone loss and number of teeth at baseline. Gender, smoking and IL-1-polymorphism were neither associated with bone loss nor with number of teeth prior to treatment. After adjusting for age as well as gender, AgP was significantly associated with more severe bone loss in untreated periodontal disease ( p == 0.036). In non-smokers, mean number of teeth prior to active periodontal therapy correlated significantly with presence of IL-1 polymorphism. Conclusion. The IL-1-polymorphism is associated with lower number of teeth in non-smokers with untreated periodontal disease. Untreated AgP is associated with more severe bone loss than untreated ChP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To identify dialysis patients with low fetuin-A levels, a sensitive immunoluminometric assay (ILMA) was developed. Methods: For the two-site ILMA, one monoclonal antibody was coated to polystyrene beads and one polyclonal antibody was labelled with acridinium ester. Results: The lower detection threshold was 0.013 g/L, with the normal range 0.20-0.87 g/L (arithmetic mean 0.437 ± 0.118 g/L). Serum fetuin-A levels in the dialysis patients were significantly lower (arithmetic mean: 0.352 ± 0.099 g/L, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: This ILMA has been proved to be a reliable method for the determination of serum fetuin-A concentrations in dialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]