Extraoral Auricular Implant Stability Assessment in Elderly Patients

Good extraoral (EO) implant stability is essential for stable prosthetic restoration. Hypothesis: In elderly patients, due to lower osseointegration capacity, definitive EO implant stability will be lower compared with young patients. In addition, osseointegration will be longer due to the slower bone reparatory process. The aim of this study was to assess the difference in EO implant stability between young and elderly patients over time. Implant stability was compared between young and elderly patients. Thirty-six EO screws were placed in the temporal bone for auricular prostheses anchorage. Implant stability quotient (ISQ) was measured by resonant frequency analysis (RFA) immediately after implantation, after 3 and 6 months. Significant differences were noted in all 3 measurement time points. Therefore, stability was lower in the elderly compared with the young patients, which indicates lesser osseointegration and bone mineralization. In the elderly, no significant difference between ISQ3 and ISQ0 was found. The significant differences were between ISQ6 and ISQ0, as well as between ISQ6 and ISQ3, which indicates slower osseointegration. To summarize, Auricular implant stability is age-dependent. Elderly patients showed significantly lower ISQ values over time, which proved the hypothesis that lower reparatory bone capacity in elderly patients will result in lower definitive EO implant stability.