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

The authors sought to review available literature relating to SSRI withdrawal syndromes

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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Alveolar ridge preservation techniques

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16 RCTs were included in this Cochrane review update of the effectiveness of techniques for alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) following dental extractions prior to implant placement. The findings suggest that ARP techniques may minimise the overall changes in residual ridge height and width six months after extraction, but the evidence is very uncertain

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