25 February 2020

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Complications and survival rates of implants from 9 to 15 years follow-up

Lara Figini

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Dental implantology is currently a routine therapy performed on young patients but also on older patients, with or without systemic diseases. Despite the fact that dental implant therapy has been performed for many years and a large number of studies have been produced annually, only a few studies with a follow‐up period of greater than 10 years describing the occurrence of all complications have been published.  

Materials and Methods     
 In a retrospective study, published on Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, January 2020 , the authors assessed the long-term results (9-15 years) of implant therapy. They assessed survival and complication rates. Patients (n = 376) treated with dental implants (n = 1095) between 1999 and 2005 at a specialist clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, were included. Longitudinal data were collected retrospectively from digital dental records. A subset of the included patient underwent a clinical examination at the 9‐15 years follow‐up (n = 163). Chisquare tests, Kaplan‐Meier analyses and the general estimating equations (GEE) procedure were adopted for multilevel analyses.  

Results   
 The cumulative implant survival rate up to 15 years was 82.6%. The prevalences of biological and technical complications at patient level were 52% and 32%, respectively. In total, 763 complications occurred, 65% of patients experienced at least one complications. Implant loss occurred significantly more frequently in subjects with a history of treated severe periodontitis Stage III‐IV and in cases when complications were registered during implant surgery. Smoking was a significant risk indicator for peri-implantitis.  

Conclusions   
 From the data of this retrospective study, which must be confirmed in other similar studies, it can be concluded that the loss of implants (with follow-up at 9-15 years) is significantly more frequent in patients with a history of severe periodontitis  and if a complication was occurred during implant surgery. Smoking represents a significant risk indicator for peri-implantitis.      

Clinical implications     
 Awareness of the risks and complications of long-distance implantology is essential for both patients and professionals, as well as for health planning.     

For additional information: Survival and complications: A 9- to 15-year retrospective follow-up of dental implant therapy. 

Italian version: http://www.odontoiatria33.it/implantologia/18793/sopravvivenza-e-complicanze-dell-implantologia-a-15-anni.html