Factors affecting outcomes for single-tooth implants and endodontic restorations

Area of Science:

• Dentistry
• Oral Surgery
• Endodontics

Background:

• Root canal therapy and dental implants are common restorative procedures.
• Identifying prognostic factors is crucial for optimizing treatment outcomes.
• Understanding factors influencing success aids clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare prognostic factors affecting outcomes of initial nonsurgical root canal treated (NSRCT) teeth and implant restorations.
• To identify specific variables influencing success, survival, survival with intervention, and failure in both treatment groups.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 196 implant restorations and 196 matched NSRCT teeth.
• Evaluation of four outcome measures: success, survival, survival with intervention, and failure.
• Statistical analysis to determine the influence of various patient and treatment factors.

Main Results:

• Smokers experienced significantly fewer successes and more failures in both implant and NSRCT groups (p = 0.0001).
• NSRCT outcomes were negatively impacted by periradicular periodontitis (p = 0.001), post placement (p = 0.013), and overfilling (p = 0.003).
• Diabetes, age, gender, implant length/diameter, and adjacent endodontically treated teeth did not significantly affect outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Smoking is a significant negative prognostic factor for both dental implants and NSRCT.
• Specific factors like periradicular periodontitis and post placement are critical for NSRCT success.
• Implant outcomes are robust regarding length, diameter, and adjacent endodontic status, but smoking remains a key concern.