about_small_1

Immediate loading is variably defined, depending on the restorative protocol used at various investigating centers. The interval between placement of the implant and the restoration has varied between 0 and 20 days. However, from a patient’s perspective, immediate loading should refer to the placement and restoration of an endosseous dental implant during the same clinical visit. Because this procedure often involves the placement of a provisional restoration, the term “immediate provisionalization” also was proposed. The speculation that immediate provisionalization by virtue of provisional materials represented a reduced loading environment is not fully supported by existing literature. 50 Immediate provisionalization of implants also describes the placement of a provisional restoration that is designed to lack centric and eccentric contacts to avoid potential risks of loading by function (thus alternatively termed nonfunctional immediate loading).