Immediate Implants Placed in Fresh Sockets Associated with Periapical Pathology: A Split-Mouth Design and Survival Evaluation after 1-Year Follow-Up

Purpose To compare the immediate implant success rates between sites with chronic apical lesions and healthy sites in the same patients 1 year postdelayed loading. Materials and Methods One hundred sixty‐eight immediate implants were placed in sixty patients at upper incisor, canine, and premolar sites. A split‐mouth design was used, placing a minimum of two implants, one in a fresh socket associated with chronic periapical disease, the average lesion size was larger than 4 mm and less than 8 mm (test group), and the other(s) in a healthy fresh socket (control group). Implant survival rate at 1 year postloading delayed was compared between the groups. Results The implant survival rate was 98.2% for the total sample (n = 168); out of the three implants lost, two were from the test group, and one was from the control group (in the same patient as one of the former). Among the surviving implants, five were also considered failures due to excessive bone loss (n = 3) and also because of the recurrence of the periapical lesions (n = 2). Survival rates were significantly lower in the test than control sites at 12 months postloading. Conclusions Implant survival rates were significantly lower after the immediate implantation in postextraction sockets associated with chronic periapical disease (90.8%) than in healthy postextraction sockets (98.1%).