Short Dental Implants: Its Rationale for Use

Abstract

Atrophy of alveolar bone in the posterior part of the mouth is routinely encountered in clinical practice. The present treatment modality to replace the missing teeth with an implant-retained fixed partial denture includes sinus bone grafting in the maxilla and onlay bone graft in the mandible. This type of treatment is invasive and requires more time and cost. Short dental implants are used as an alternative treatment modality to bone grafting procedures. Short implants could provide equivalent results to those of longer implants if certain principles are followed. The present article reviews the current literature on the use of short implants and discusses the biomechanical considerations when using short implants.