Early and immediate implant loading: are there any complications?

Immediate and early loading (6weeks) consists of putting the implant into function via a temporary prosthesis generally slightly under occlusion. This approach has become a viable alternative nowadays, especially in areas where aesthetics is crucial, often it is the case of one or two maxillary incisors. It has a considerable contribution to saving time. But what could be the clinical results and possible complications? The aim of our letter to the editors is to answer this question by comparing the complications of this approach with those of deferred loading, ie after osseointegration. The literature reports that complications concerning marginal bone loss, esthetic outcomes, soft tissue healing do not show any significant differences as long as the selection of patient is adequate and the primary stability is sufficient. But we have noted a higher rate of minimal prosthetic complications: loosening or fracture of a provisional fracture of a screw. We can conclude that the use of immediate loading in fixed implant-supported prosthesis is now a widely accepted protocol with survival rates similar to the delayed loading protocol, however, cases should be selected with caution.