07 March 2024

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Can bruxism predispose to implant failure?

Lara Figini

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The longevity of teeth, dental restorations and dental implants is influenced by a number of factors, those related to the materials used, technical factors and patient-related factors. Specifically, bruxism is related to various negative consequences, both at the level of natural teeth and at the level of dental implants, where it can cause overload and therefore be associated with a higher risk of implant failure, generating technical complications and failures of the implant support, including fracture of the implants themselves. Such failures and complications lead not only to suffering for patients, but also to increased costs and additional sessions to deal with the problems. 

Type of research and analysis methods 

In a systematic review published in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, the authors evaluated implant failure and marginal bone loss (MBL) in patients with probable bruxism compared to non-bruxist patients. The review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021238397). The electronic bibliographic search was performed in September 2022 using PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Science Direct, and was also combined with a manual bibliographic search. Two independent reviewers performed abstract screening, full text assessment, quality assessment (National Institutes of Health tool) and performed data extraction. Pairwise random effect meta-analysis was performed. 

Results 

Of 1,338 studies identified, 27 studies were included presenting data on 2,105 implants in probable bruxists and 10,264 implants in non-bruxists, with 138 and 352 implant failures, respectively. The meta-analysis highlighted that implants placed in probable bruxists had a higher risk of failure than in non-bruxists. Eighteen studies provided general data on MBL but did not report separate results between bruxists and non-bruxists, so MBL could not be analyzed. 

Conclusions 

From the data of this review, which must be confirmed in other similar studies and reviews, it can be concluded that implants inserted in probable bruxist patients present a significantly higher risk of failure compared to implants inserted in non-bruxist patients. 

Clinical implications 

The results of this review should be considered when planning and managing implant treatment. 

Bibliography : Bruxism and dental implants: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Birgitta Häggman-Henrikson, David Ali, Mustafa Aljamal, Bruno Ramos Chrcanovic. J Oral Rehabil. January 2024;51:202–217.