RESUMEN
PURPOSE: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the result of implant treatment in patients with severe hypodontia and compare some basic characteristics of patients with severe hypodontia who received conventional dental treatment or no treatment at all with those who were treated in combination with endosseous implants. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients who had been referred to an academic center of special dental care between 1990 and 2008 and who had been classified at their first visit as having "oligodontia" or "severe hypodontia" were selected from the hospital's database. Their charts were reviewed, and surgical treatment details and outcomes of the implants were registered from those patients who received endosseous implants. RESULTS: Of the 294 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 44 patients were treated in combination with endosseous implants. The cumulative chance of implant survival of the 214 placed implants after 5 years was 89.8% (SE, 2.6%), with a mean observation period of 2.9 years (minimum, 0.1 years; maximum, 18.3 years). No implants failed thereafter. Patients who received implants were missing fewer teeth and were treated more recently compared with those who received conventional restorative treatment or no treatment at all. CONCLUSION: Considering the compromised anatomic situation and the complexity of treatment, a 5-year survival rate of 89.8% in patients with severe hypodontia, as seen in this study, is regarded as acceptable.