The use of mini-implants for provisional prosthetic rehabilitation in growing patients: a critical review.

PURPOSE To critically review the literature using mini-implants for prosthetic rehabilitation of growing patients and to analyze the survival rates and clinical behavior of mini-implants. STUDY SELECTION Controlled clinical trials and case reports published in English, from January 2006 to October 2018, in a peer-reviewed journal in PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies using mini-implants for prosthetic rehabilitation in growing patients were included. Articles reporting mini-implants with a diameter greater than 3 mm, recruitment of adult participants, use of implants with other purposes than prosthodontic rehabilitation, and with a follow-up period shorter than 1 year, were excluded from the analysis. The selection was performed independently by two reviewers. RESULTS The selection resulted in the inclusion of eight articles. Although the studies presented heterogeneous protocols and follow-ups (varying from 1 to 8 years), only one case of failure was reported, which corresponded to crown displacement. All rehabilitation procedures were performed in the anterior region using mini-implants with different diameters (1.3-2.9 mm) and lengths (9-14 mm). The prosthetic rehabilitation included individual crowns and/or overdentures. CONCLUSIONS Mini-implant prosthetic rehabilitation seems to be a viable and promising option for provisional rehabilitation of growing patients, since it seems to preserve the bone structure while restoring function and esthetics until growth ceases, when then mini-implants can be replaced by standard implants.