What Researchers Did
Researchers reviewed many studies to find out how well dental implants survive in patients with head and neck cancers and what factors might affect their success.
What They Found
This review of 42 studies involving 2,448 patients and 10,164 implants found an overall implant survival rate of 88%. Implant survival was lower in bone that had been irradiated (risk ratio 0.95) and in grafted bone (risk ratio 0.92). Importantly, patients who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) had significantly higher implant survival rates.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
For Canadian patients with head and neck cancers considering dental implants, this research suggests that hyperbaric oxygen therapy could improve the success rate of their implants, especially if their bone has been irradiated or grafted. This offers a potential strategy to enhance long-term outcomes for dental rehabilitation after cancer treatment.
Canadian Relevance
This study covers delayed radiation injury and osteoradionecrosis, which are Health Canada-recognized indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Study Limitations
The study's main limitation is the significant variation among the included studies and the use of crude survival proportions rather than time-specific estimates.