A case of blade vent implant in the mandible with remaining teeth was observed clinically and radiographically for 20 years. Linkow-E 6 S and E 4 S type blade vents (Titanium) were implanted in the mandible of an edentulous 62-year-old man in March 1972. These system functioned for 20 years until they are removed in June 1993.
The sinking grade of the blade vent and resorption of alveolar bone were observed by panoramic radiography. The result revealed that the blade vent implanted adjacent to the remnant teeth gave no evidence of sinking, but on the opposite implanted side in the edentulous mandible, sinking of 3 mm and slight alveolar bone resorption were shown. The present case reveals that the endosseous implant does not always induce bone resorption, when excellent oral hygiene and maintenance are continued.
