Survival and Success of Mini Dental Implants Supporting Complete Removable Over-Dentures: A Literature Review

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: To review and report on the literature covering the cumulative survival and success of Mini Dental Implants (MDIs) supporting complete removable over-dentures. Materials and Methods: An electronic keyword search was carried out using PubMed for Medline (National Library of Medicine, Washington, DC), Google-Scholar, and the Web of Science® interface by M.C. and S.R. The standard and network approaches were utilised according to O’Connor (1992). The initial search was carried out from the 1st of December 2015 to the 31st of March 2016, followed by a second and final search finalised in November 2020. The above -mentioned data bases were searched using combinations of the following key words: Mini dental implant*, Mini-dental implant*, “Narrow diameter dental implant*”, “small diameter dental implant*”. Boolean operators (‘Or’ and ‘AND’) were used to expand, exclude and join keywords. Results: 20 full text articles were analysed. The cumulative MDI survival rate ranged from 66-100% at 1-8.7 years. Success rates ranged from 78-100% Conclusions: MDI survival rates were found to be lower than those of regular sized implants supporting removable complete over-dentures however success rates of MDIs are high in the short term and offer a very good alternative to regular sized implants. Failures and complications were more prevalent in the maxilla than in the mandible