Immediate loading, otherwise known as Immediate Function, involves the placement of a restoration within 48 hours of implant placement. It can be applied if sufficient primary stability is achieved – for a single tooth restoration, this is known as immediate provisionalization.
The technique was developed in response to patients’ growing demand for quicker treatment and faster time-to-teeth. Ledermann was the first to document successful healing of immediately loaded implants, which were placed in the anterior part of the mandible, but Schnitman et al. were first to explore the possibility of successfully fixing a partial prosthesis to immediately loaded implants. Among the several long-term studies performed since then with 5-10 years’ follow-up, high cumulative survival rates, such as around 97% – 100% were reported for immediately loaded implants placed in extraction sites for any indication.7 To avoid loading a restoration, the provisional should be taken out of occlusion or the patient should be instructed to follow a soft diet.
