Treatment of the edentulous mandible with a vestibuloplasty combined with intramobil Zylinder implants: a 5-year follow-up

The long-term success of endosseous implants is related to healthy peri-implant tissues. Attached keratinized mucosa does not seem important for the prevention of soft tissue complications. Prevention of muscle attachment near the implants, however, seems more decisive for maintaining a favourable peri-implant environment. We treated 150 patients from 1990-91 with two Intramobil Zylinder implants and modified vestibuloplasty, 65 of whom were randomly selected for evaluation at 1 year; 48 of the 65 were also seen at 5 years. The vestibuloplasty was done by the technique of Pichler and Trauner, to prevent muscle pull and to create a thin layer of mucosa around the implants, and endosseous osseointegrated implants were inserted. The results show an adequately deepened vestibulum with no muscle pull around the implants and significantly lower pocket depth after 5 years of follow-up compared with similar studies.