Survival of dental implants in bisphosphonate users versus non-users: a systematic review

To investigate the literature regarding the survival rate of dental implants in bisphosphonate users as compared to non-users. An online search of literatures through MEDLINE-PUBMED (1950-March 2012), Cochrane Database of Systematic reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (1800-March 2012) and EMBASE (1966-March 2012) databases was performed. All the relevant publications were identified and full texts of these articles were obtained. After scrutinizing the relevant articles and their related references five articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were finalized. Only one study stated that dental implant failure was higher in patients under bisphosphonate therapy. The implant survival rates ranged between 95% and 100% in case of bisphosphonate users and 96.5% to 99.2% in non-users. Within the limitations of this review, it can be concluded that short term bisphosphonate therapy does not increase or decrease the survival rate of dental implants in bisphosphonate users as compared to non-users.