Risk Factors Associated with Mini-Implant Failure: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the failure rate of mini-implants used at the orthodontic external clinic, Egas Moniz School of Health and Science. A retrospective cross-sectional investigation was performed. This included the insertion of 232 TADs into 125 consecutive patients and was always performed with an immediate loading protocol. The examined variables were: gender, age, Angle’s classification, presence of pathologies, medication, smoking, receiving jaw, placement side, and insertion site. Descriptive statistics were used and inferential analysis was performed, revealing the six-month failure rate of the used TADs to be 25%. A significant association was found between being a smoker, the failure rate (p = 0.036), and the placement site (p = 0.003).

Keywords

• miniscrew
• orthodontic
• mini-implant
• skeletal anchorage
• temporary anchorage device