Impacted Teeth vs Immediate Post-extraction Implants: A Review of Survival, Marginal Bone Loss, and Complications

Ulhas Tandale

Department of Prosthodontics, Government Dental College and Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ghati Hospital Campus, Panchakki Road, Maharashtra-431001, India.

Bhushan Krishna Chalmela *

Government Dental College and Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ghati Hospital Campus, Panchakki Road, Maharashtra -431001, India.

Kishor Mahale

Government Dental College and Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ghati Hospital Campus, Panchakki Road, Maharashtra -431001, India.

Smita Khalikar

Government Dental College and Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ghati Hospital Campus, Panchakki Road, Maharashtra -431001, India.

Vilas Rajguru

Government Dental College and Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ghati Hospital Campus, Panchakki Road, Maharashtra -431001, India.

Sonali Mahajan

Government Dental College and Hospital, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Ghati Hospital Campus, Panchakki Road, Maharashtra -431001, India.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Dental implant therapy increasingly emphasises shortening treatment time and minimising surgical morbidity while maintaining long-term biological stability and esthetic integration. Two approaches that aim to reduce or avoid extensive hard-tissue surgery are (i) implant placement through impacted teeth or retained dental tissues (hereafter, “transdental” placement) and (ii) immediate post-extraction implant placement in fresh sockets. Although both strategies may reduce the number of surgical stages compared with conventional delayed placement, they arise from different clinical problems: transdental placement is typically considered when an impacted tooth obstructs the ideal implant trajectory and surgical removal would create substantial defects, whereas immediate placement addresses replacement of a failing or hopeless tooth at the time of extraction. This review synthesises contemporary evidence on survival, marginal bone loss, and complications for each approach, and interprets these outcomes through a biological and risk-management lens. Current human data indicate that implants placed through impacted teeth can achieve high short- to medium-term stability in carefully selected cases, but the evidence base remains dominated by small case series and heterogeneous follow-up. Immediate post-extraction implants demonstrate high overall survival in systematic reviews and randomised trials, though slightly lower survival than delayed protocols have been reported in some meta-analyses, and esthetic complications remain a key concern in thin phenotypes or compromised sockets. Across both approaches, outcomes appear highly dependent on case selection, meticulous imaging-based planning, primary stability, infection control, and soft-tissue management. Robust comparative studies with standardised radiographic and patient-reported outcomes are needed before transdental placement can be recommended beyond narrowly defined indications.

Keywords: Impacted tooth, immediate implant placement, fresh extraction socket, marginal bone loss, implant survival, complications, esthetic zone


How to Cite

Tandale, Ulhas, Bhushan Krishna Chalmela, Kishor Mahale, Smita Khalikar, Vilas Rajguru, and Sonali Mahajan. 2026. “Impacted Teeth Vs Immediate Post-Extraction Implants: A Review of Survival, Marginal Bone Loss, and Complications”. Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research 38 (1):58-68. https://doi.org/10.9734/jammr/2026/v38i16041.

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