.  2023 Mar;27(1):12-19. 10.32542/implantology.2023002.

Survival Rate of Dental Implants in the Irradiated Jaw Bones of Patients with Oral and Head & Neck Malignancies

• Lee SM
• Kim HS
• Ahn KM

• KMID: 2549301
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.32542/implantology.2023002

Abstract

Purpose
This study aimed to analyze and report the survival rate of dental implants in patients who underwent radiation therapy for head and neck malignancies.
Materials and Methods
A total of 23 patients (male:female ratio = 13:10; mean age 61 years, range, 44–86 years) who underwent dental implant placement after radiation therapy between 2010 and 2020 were enrolled in this study. The cumulative survival rate (CSR) was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method, considering variables such as the location of the dental implant, radiation dose, and types of cancers that patients had. Implant placement was considered successful if it showed no mobility, did not cause pain or bleeding, or a minimal marginal bone level change at follow-up.
Results
There were two cases of death during the follow-up period. Seven of the 83 implants failed. Among the seven failure cases, four implants were applied in the posterior mandibular area, one in the anterior mandibular area, and two in the posterior maxillary area. When each variable was considered, the CSR of the implant was 91.6%. The correlation between CSR, implant location, and the types of cancer was statistically significant. However, there was no correlation between the CSR and average radiation dose.
Conclusion
The survival of implants in the irradiated area of the jaw was lower than that in the normal jawbone. The survival rate of the implants in the irradiated maxillary jaw was lower than that of the implants in the mandible. Additionally, the radiation dose was not significantly correlated with implant failure rate. Also, when compared between patients who had oral cavity cancer and other head and neck cancers, implant survival in patients with oral cavity cancer was lower than that in patients with other head and neck cancers.

Keyword

Cumulative survival rate; Dental implant; Head & neck cancer; Oral cancer; Radiation therapy