[A preliminary study on compliance of supportive treatment of patients with periodontitis after implant restoration therapy].

OBJECTIVE: To find out factors influencing the compliance of supportive treatment of patients with periodontitis who have received implant restoration therapy. METHODS: Patients who had completed periodontal and implant restoration treatment for more than 5 years in Department of Periodontology, Peking University Hospital of Stomatology were subjected to inclusion between March 2022 and August 2023.A questionnaire was compiled to gather the information including patients ' basic information (gender, age, and educational background etc.), smoking habits, general health conditions, oral hygiene habits, willingness to undertake periodontal and dental implant supportive treatment, actual fact on supportive treatment recorded in medical records, whether medical advices were correctly remembered, and reasons affected them to implement supportive therapy. The questionnaires were handed out to the above patients and filled during the process of follow-up treatment. Chi-square test, univariate and multivariate analysis of Logistic regression were employed to explore the correlations of these factors and the patients' compliance. RESULTS: In the study, 92 patients and questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The results indicated that oral hygiene habits and whether medical advices were correctly remembered had significant correlation with compliance (P < 0.05). Time constraint (47.0%) and difficulty in appointment registration (24.8%) were the top 2 reasons obstructed them to undertake supportive treatment. Although the vast majority of the patients indicated willingness to perform follow-ups, 55.4% of them wouldn't come back until the dentist called them back. The results of our study also indicated that the patients placed significantly less importance on the health of natural teeth than implants. CONCLUSION: In order to improve the compliance of supportive treatment, we suggest that dentists should put more emphasis on oral hygiene instruction, and knowledge regarding periodontitis should also be added as part of patient education contents. In the early stages of treatment, the patient should develop the habit of regular follow-up checks, More attention and patience should be given to elderly patients and those with lower level of education; use language that is easy to understand and printed medical instructions to help them remember. Patients can memorize better from refined doctors' advice, reinforcing care knowledge and refining medical advices can promote better follow-up treatment results. Motivating patients based on their characteristics is critical to improving compliance.

A prospective, multicentre study of 6-mm short implants in posterior alveolar bone supporting splinted crowns: A 5-year follow-up study.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of 6-mm short implants, placed in the posterior jaws and supporting splinted crowns, at 5 years after early loading. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients with 95 implants (diameter: 4 mm; length: 6 mm) were enrolled at three centres. Two to three implants were placed in either the maxillary or the mandibular posterior region in each patient and restored with screw-retained splinted crowns at 6 weeks later. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were evaluated at implant placement, at loading, and at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 60 months after loading. Biological and mechanical complications were recorded. Marginal changes in bone level in relation to clinical parameters were evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model. RESULTS: During the 5 years of follow-up, the mean change in the marginal bone level (MBL) was 0.04 ± 0.14 mm. Four implants in four patients were lost before loading, one implant in one patient was lost at the 5-year follow-up, and two patients were lost to follow-up. The survival and success rates were 88.4% (38/43) at the patient level. The incidence rates of peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis were 29.4% and 7.0%, respectively. The rate of technical complications was 14.0%. CONCLUSIONS: Over a 5-year period, 6-mm short implants supporting early loaded splinted crowns in maxillary or mandibular posterior regions showed stable MBLs and acceptable technical and biological complication rates.