The appearance of poorer oral hygiene later in the study also appears to correspond with the drop in follow-up attendance, which again supports the importance of follow-up. All other complications could be resolved and were not persisting. Furthermore, patients selected for inclusion in this study were optimal candidates for dental implants. Though the inclusion criteria predestinate the patient selection to some extent, the clinician’s expertise likely influences selection of a “good” patient. The patients included in our study had good overall health; American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores of 1 were observed for 85.6% of patients, and 74% of patients had never smoked.

A limitation of this study was the imbalance in the use of platform-matching and platform-switching abutments. Platform-switching abutments are relatively new, and in practice, the “newer” method (platform switching) was likely chosen over the conventional method. Platform-switching implants have been shown to have better outcomes with regards to bone level changes, but overall patient satisfaction does not differ between the two types [23], also supported by the results of our study. Another limitation may be the non-homogeneous study population. There were no exclusion criteria apart from the standard contraindications for an implant treatment, and the patients descend from the standard pool of private practices. Nevertheless, the success and survival rates were very high and were comparable with clinical data obtained in well-controlled clinical trials with multiple inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Within the limitations of this study, we conclude that the CAMLOG SCREW-LINE implants placed with both platform-matching and platform-switching abutments in patients in a private practice setting seem to achieve clinical outcomes comparable with those achieved in controlled clinical trials. The crestal bone changes over a 5-year period were mainly limited to < 1 mm and could be interpreted as proper peri-implant tissue stability. We also draw attention to the importance of patient education and regular follow-up on clinical outcomes. The patients in our study were highly satisfied with their implants, soft tissue parameters were excellent, and bone level changes were minimal, leading to good overall success and survival of the implants.