Osseointegration of dental implants in patients with and without radiotherapy

Between 1987 and 1997, 275 dental implants were inserted in the mandibles of 63 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower oropharyngeal level following a radical surgical procedure. Thirty-five of these patients had been preirradiated with a complete dose of 60 Gy. In a retrospective analysis we have reviewed the data of these patients for age, sex, localization of the implants, irradiation, interval of implantation and interval of the abutment operation. Thus far, the median follow-up time is 65 months. The 5-year success rate for all implants was 97.9%. We found that radiotherapy, age, sex, localization of implantation or the interval between the end of the tumor therapy and the time of implantation did not have any significant influence on osseointegration or loss of osseointegration. Only the time interval between implantation and the abutment operation was recorded to be of any great significance (p = 0.0001). No augmentation in the osteoradionecrosis rate could be recorded after dental implantation (1.6%), which leads us to conclude that radiotherapy (60 Gy) in patients with head and neck cancers should not be regarded as a contraindication for dental implantation.