• 10/27/2005
  • England
  • G. J. Granström
  • British Dental Journal (2005); 199, 511. doi

Implant failure was higher in irradiated patients, but not greatly so.

This retrospective study evaluated 631 implants placed in 107 cancer patients who had received radiotherapy over a 25 yr period. At the end of the period, 71 patients were alive (mean survival time of 16 yrs), and 36 had died (9.8), and 484 implants were still active and stable. Age and gender matched healthy controls received 614 implants, and 76 implants failed during a mean follow-up of 7.2 yrs. Six of the 100 controls died of cardiovascular disease during the period.

Implant failure was significantly higher in the cancer patients, irrespective of when they received radiotherapy and of whether they also had chemotherapy. Most implant failure was early, before loading. There was a relationship of failure to radiation dose, and some failures occurred as long as 20 yrs later. The authors recommend use of long fixtures, fixed retention and hyperbaric oxygen, which all improved implant survival. Highest failure rates were in the frontal bone, zygoma, mandible and nasal maxilla.