Dental implants remain functional after forty years, study reveals

The study is the longest follow-up study of single dental implants and is based on a follow-up of a small group of patients who received single implants to replace missing teeth between 1982 and 1985. After nearly forty years, all examined implants were still in place and fully functional.

The research has been published in the scientific journal Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research.

Stable implants

Of the 16 patients who received implants during the study period, 13 participated in the follow-up, conducted at the Brånemark Clinic, Public Dental Service Västra Götaland. These 13 patients had a total of 18 implants.

Sargon Barkarmo, prosthodontist and senior lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, said, "It is impressive that the single implants function so well after such a long time. Even though the study included a small number of patients, the results show that the implants remain in place and that the bone loss around them is virtually unchanged after forty years.”