Dental implants in patients at high risk for infective endocarditis: a preliminary study

The safety of dental implant placement in patients at high risk for infective endocarditis (IE) has never been shown. The outcome of osseointegrated implants in patients with artificial heart valves or with a history of an infected valve is not known. In this article we describe our experience of dental implant placement in patients at high risk for IE. A retrospective study was conducted on patients at high risk for IE who underwent dental implant placement. All the patients received prophylactic antibiotic treatment before the surgical procedure, in accordance with the relevant American Heart Association guidelines. A total 13 patients underwent 16 surgical procedures for the placement of 57 dental implants over a period of 17 years. Within the follow-up period, no case of IE was reported. Two implants failed before exposure in one patient, one patient suffered from mitral valve thrombosis 14 days after the dental procedure, and another patient suffered a stroke 6 months following treatment. Despite the limitation of the small group of patients and the known low incidence of IE, dental implants may be regarded as a legitimate procedure for patients at high risk for IE.