Dental implants for patients with oral mucosal diseases: A narrative review and clinical guidance

Oral mucosal diseases are a group of conditions that affect the oral mucosa with variable severity and include recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), oral lichen planus (OLP), pemphigus vulgaris (PV), mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These may manifest clinically as painful oral ulcerations, reticulations and/or erosions, with differences between each. Management protocols often include initial topical and/or systemic corticosteroid (CS) therapy to control the patient's acute symptoms, followed by CS-sparing agents for long-term maintenance therapy. Patients with oral mucosal diseases often require dental implants to replace missing teeth. However, data on potential complications and success rates for these cases is still lacking. Considering the steady increase in the incidence of immune-related systemic conditions in the general population globally, dentists are expected to have the needed knowledge and ability to safely place dental implants in this group of patients. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the underlying pathogeneses of common oral mucosal diseases, clinical presentations, best practice approaches, and recommendations for the placement of dental implants in patients with similar conditions.