Incidence of neurosensory disturbance in mandibular implant surgery - A meta-analysis

Implantology has been widely accepted as the mainstay treatment for rehabilitating complete and partial edentulism. However, it is associated with some failures and complications, the most concerning being neurosensory disturbance. Although neurosensory disturbance has been extensively studied, the incidence and cause remains largely variable. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the incidence, distribution, and recovery rate of neurosensory disturbance.

This systematic review was conducted as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement. A structured literature review was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Ovid, and Google Scholar for reports related to neurosensory disturbance experienced after implant placement in the mandible.

Incidence and recovery rate for 100 person-years was calculated using the Poisson regression model. The risk difference of incidence between anterior and posterior implants was calculated with a random effects model.

Electronic database search yielded 1589 articles; a total of nine articles were selected for the meta-analysis. The risk of neurosensory disturbance was estimated at 13.50/100 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 10.98-16.03), with a greater risk with anteriorly placed implants: -0.02 (95% CI: -0.21-0.16) (P = 0.05). The overall recovery rate was estimated at 51.30/100 person-years (95% CI: 31.2-71.4).

Within the limitations of the study, it can be concluded that mandibular implant placement is associated with a considerable risk of neurosensory disturbance. A large proportion of these patients present with spontaneous recovery; however, clinicians must take necessary precautions to avoid such complications. More randomized controlled trials are required to quantify the effect of factors leading to altered sensation during implant placement.