Dental implants are the best treatment to replace the partial or total absence of teeth. These are two of the most important advances in dental implant dentistry today. Short implants of 6 and 8 mm and narrow implants of 3.3 mm in diameter have the same success as implants of greater length and diameter, but their use allows the patient to save major bone regeneration surgeries, treatment time, time in the dental clinic and economic costs. The morbidity and difficulty of dental implant treatment is greatly reduced, making it minimally invasive. With this advance, patients can avoid complex bone augmentation surgeries and can routinely have their permanent teeth on implants in six to eight weeks. In the same way, short implants avoid surgeries such as sinus elevations or fillings, as well as complex and invasive bone regeneration surgeries in the mandible above the dental nerve. Narrow titanium-zirconium alloy implants are very strong, and reduce the need to place wide implants in areas of low bone availability or in esthetic areas. Today we know that the use of narrow implants in the anterior area is related to better esthetic results.
Another advance achieved in recent years is the possibility for the patient to have the final teeth on the implants three to four weeks after implant placement. The Straumann SLActive implant surface has been scientifically proven for more than ten years, so that the most demanding patients only have to wait 21 days to have their definitive fixed teeth.
Dental implantology is evolving very rapidly for the benefit of the patient. In 2015 we know that not all implants work the same, and one brand shows itself to be superior to the others (Journal Dental Research). The use of short, narrow implants with “smart” surfaces allows patients to obtain fixed teeth in less time, after a simple intervention and saving significant economic costs and complications.