Short Versus Standard Dental Implants: Clinical and Biomarker Outcomes

September 15, 2026 updated by: Kubra Aral, Inonu University

Comparison of Peri-Implant Tissue Health and Biomarker Outcomes Between Short and Standard Dental Implants: A Prospective Study

This study compares two types of dental implants, short implants (6 millimeters or less in length) and standard implants (longer than 8 millimeters), to evaluate their effect on the health of the gum and bone tissue surrounding the implant. Approximately 40 patients receiving a total of 80 dental implants will be followed. Researchers will assess clinical signs of gum health around the implants, measure specific protein levels (biomarkers) in the fluid surrounding the implants associated with gum disease. The goal of this study is to determine whether implant length affects the risk of inflammation or infection around dental implants, which may help guide treatment decisions in the future.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Detailed Description

This is a prospective study enrolling approximately 40 patients who will receive a total of 80 dental implants, categorized as short (≤6 mm) or standard (>8 mm) in length. Peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) samples will be collected at baseline from all patients. In patients who develop peri-implant mucositis, an additional PICF sample will be collected at 1 and 3 months. PICF samples will be analyzed by ELISA for RANKL, OPG, cathepsin-K, and cytokine levels. Implant diameter and length will be recorded for each patient. Clinical parameters of peri-implant tissue health will also be assessed at each visit. The study aims to compare biochemical and clinical outcomes between short and standard implants to determine whether implant length influences peri-implant tissue health.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult patients presenting to the Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Inonu University, for routine dental check-up, who have at least one short (≤6 mm) and/or standard (>8 mm) dental implant in function for at least 2 years.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Systemically healthy adults aged 18-70 years.
  • Presence of at least one short (≤6 mm) and/or standard (>8 mm) dental implant in function for at least 2 years.
  • Patients presenting to the Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Inonu University, for routine dental examination.
  • For the peri-implant health group: absence of clinical signs of inflammation (redness, edema, or suppuration), absence of bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) ≤5 mm, full-mouth BOP <10%, no radiographic evidence of pathological peri-implant bone loss, and no clinical implant mobility.
  • For the peri-implant mucositis group: presence of clinical signs of inflammation (redness and/or edema) without suppuration, presence of bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD) ≤5 mm, full-mouth BOP >10%, no radiographic evidence of pathological peri-implant bone loss, and no clinical implant mobility.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age younger than 18 years or older than 70 years.
  • Presence of any systemic disease.
  • Immune system disorders or use of immunosuppressive medications.
  • Requirement for antibiotic prophylaxis before dental procedures.
  • Bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis.
  • Pregnancy or lactation.
  • Smoking.
  • Alcohol consumption.
  • Antibiotic treatment within the previous 6 months.
  • Continuous use of systemic medications.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Short implant group
Patients receiving dental implants with a length of 6 mm or less. Peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) samples will be collected to assess RANKL, OPG, and cathepsin-K levels, along with clinical peri-implant tissue health parameters
Standard Implant Group
Patients receiving dental implants with a length greater than 8 mm. Peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) samples will be collected to assess RANKL, OPG, and cathepsin-K levels, along with clinical peri-implant tissue health parameters.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Peri-Implant Crevicular Fluid RANKL Level
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) levels in peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) will be measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between short and standard implant groups.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Change in Peri-Implant Crevicular Fluid OPG Level
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Osteoprotegerin (OPG) levels in peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) will be measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between short and standard implant groups.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Change in Peri-Implant Crevicular Fluid Cathepsin K Level
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Cathepsin K levels in peri-implant crevicular fluid (PICF) will be measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and compared between short and standard implant groups.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Peri-Implant Probing Depth
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Peri-implant probing depth (PPD) will be measured in millimeters using a periodontal probe at six sites around each implant and compared between short and standard implant groups.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Change in Peri-Implant Bleeding on Probing
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Bleeding on probing (BOP) will be assessed following gentle probing around each implant and recorded as the percentage of sites exhibiting bleeding.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Change in Peri-Implant Plaque Index
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Peri-implant plaque accumulation will be evaluated using the Plaque Index (PI) and compared between short and standard implant groups.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Change in Gingival Index
Time Frame: Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.
Peri-implant soft tissue inflammation will be evaluated using the Gingival Index (mGI) and compared between short and standard implant groups.
Baseline; 1 and 3 months after non-surgical peri-implant therapy in participants who develop peri-implant mucositis.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Inonu University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 10, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 18, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 15, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2026/11007

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified individual participant data will be shared, including participant age, sex, and clinical periodontal parameters (plaque index, gingival index, probing depth, clinical attachment level, bleeding on probing). Participants will be identified only by coded/numbered case report forms; no names, gender identity beyond biological sex, or other identifying information will be shared.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning 6 months and ending 24 months following article publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be made available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal, subject to approval by the corresponding author, for the purpose of achieving the aims outlined in the approved proposal.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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