For quite some time, oral surgeons have frequently done dental implant surgeries in two steps.

This did require patients to come in twice in order to achieve the desired outcome, but the professionals felt that it was a safer alternative to handling the entire process in a single procedure.

That philosophy, though, is now being challenged by a research study that followed nine patients as they underwent a single phase surgery to receive six implants each. Those implants would then anchor prostheses.

Each of those nine patients had a condition that presented increased risk – osteoporosis.

This condition is well known in this country and affects a large number of postmenopausal women, though it is also seen in men. It causes the deterioration of bone, leaving the patient susceptible to breaks and fractures.

It also has led to serious complications after oral surgery, in the past, causing bone exposure in the jaw and a great deal of pain.

This study set out to explore if a single-phase surgery to implant six dental pieces in each of the nine patients. The outcome was very promising with one hundred percent success and no complications at the follow-ups done over two years post-op.

This provides surgeons a reason to rethink the two-stage surgical approach, particularly when working on patients of osteoporosis having taken biphosphonates for three years or more as treatment.

For more information about the study and the outcomes, keep reading the full article.