Dental implant placement in patients on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy

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The use of dental implants has steadily increased and in recent years the largest increase has been noted in patients aged between 65-74 years.  This age group are also likely to be on long-term prescription of antiplatelet and oral anticoagulants as prophylaxis against thromboembolic events. Dental implant placement as a surgical procedure presents a risk [read the full story…]

Radiotherapy and dental implant survival

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This review assessing the effect of radiotherapy on the survival of dental implants in patients with head and neck cancer included 7 studies involving a total of 441 patients. implant survival rate was lower in irradiated patients with odds ratio = 4.77 (95%CI; 2.57 to 8.89) based on 4 studies.

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Single implant restorations – Immediate v non-immediate loading

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This review of clinical outcomes for immediate and non-immediate (early or conventional) loading in single-implant restorations included 10 RCTs. All the included studies had follow up periods of 2 years or more although the number of implant failures was very low overall (11 out of 522) in both goups.

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Extra-short dental implants survival rates compared to longer implants

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This review comparing the survival rate, marginal bone loss and clinical complications between extra-short implants (≤6 mm) and 6-mm-longer implants included 17 RCTs. While teh findings suggest no differences at 3 years the included studies are generally small and none of them were at low risk of bias.

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Air polishing or hand and/or power-driven instruments in supportive periodontal therapy

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This review of air polishing devices (APDs) in comparison with hand instruments and/or power-driven instruments in supportive periodontal treatment and implant maintenance included 6 RCTs. 4 of the 6 included studies were considered to be at high risk of bias so the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

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Implant-supported overdentures and fixed prostheses in edentulous mandibles

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This review comparing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and clinical outcomes associated with implant-supported overdentures and fixed prostheses in edentulous mandibles included 10 small studies. While the findings suggest better PROMS with fixed prosthesis the available evidence is limited in quality and quantity.

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Removable partial dentures: is dental implant support a predictable approach?

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Following tooth loss, it may not be possible to restore the dentition with a fixed prosthesis due to issues with the size and distribution of the saddle area/s, abutment distribution and bone quantity/quality. This problem can be partly resolved using a removable partial denture (RPD), but good retention and stability may be challenging to achieve [read the full story…]

Dental implants – post-operative pain management

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This review evaluating clinical efficacy of analgesics in mitigating orofacial pain following dental implant surgery included 9 RCTs. While the findings suggest analgesics may be beneficial the number of studies is small an additional infromation is required on which medication,, dosage, dosing schedule, administration route and adverse effects.

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Peri-implantitis: Are locally administered antibiotics effective?

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This review of the effectiveness of locally administered antibiotics in the treatment of peri-implantitis included 12 small studies 7 of which were RCTs. While the findings suggest a small additional benefit with antibiotic use however the clinical importance of this is debatable.

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Sinus lift for implants in maxilla – graft or not?

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This review of the efficacy of graftless maxillary sinus membrane elevation using the lateral window approach for implantation in the atrophic maxilla included 9 RCTs. While some difference between grafted and graftless sinus lifts were shown at 6 months only a limited number of small short term trials were available.

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