Primary and Secondary Stability in Short-wide versus Standard-length Dental Implants - A Comparative Study

Abstract

The rehabilitation of localised vertical ridge deficiency in posterior jaws often requires short implants to avoid invasive grafting. However, the influence of implant dimensions on the transition from primary to secondary stability remains a subject of investigation. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of short-wide implants (5.0 mm diameter and 8.0 mm length) versus standard-length implants (4.2 mm diameter and 10.0 mm length) on primary and secondary stability at various time intervals using resonance frequency analysis (RFA). Twenty-two implants were placed in healed molar sites (Test group: Short-Wide Implants; Control group: Standard-length Implants). Stability was measured using the Implant Stability Quotient (ISQ) via RFA (Osstell) at placement, 3 weeks, 3 months and 9 months. Data were analysed using Student’s t -test and Repeated Measures analysis of variance ( P < 0.05). In the test group, the mean ISQ increased progressively from 60.10 ± 18.41 (baseline) to 80.70 ± 2.63 (9 months). In contrast, the control group exhibited a significant stability dip at 3 weeks (49.56 ± 12.18) compared to its baseline (56.00 ± 18.12), followed by an increase to 75.89 ± 9.29 at 9 months. The test group showed significantly higher stability than the control at 3 weeks ( P = 0.001) and 9 months ( P = 0.043). Short-wide implants appeared to exhibit a more favourable stability pattern during the observation period; however, larger studies are required to confirm these findings.