Dental Implants in 18 Patients with Systemic Scleroderma: A Retrospective Radiographic Analysis Over a 5-Year Period...

Area of Science:

• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Periodontology
• Radiology

Background:

• Systemic scleroderma (SSc) is associated with premature tooth loss.
• Dental implants are a common solution for tooth loss.
• Radiological assessment of bone loss around implants in SSc patients is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To radiologically investigate bone loss at dental implants in patients with systemic scleroderma (SSc).
• To compare peri-implant bone loss in SSc patients with existing literature data from healthy individuals.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of mesial and distal bone level changes on panoramic and intraoral radiographs of 61 implants in 18 SSc patients.
• Double-checking by three independent raters and interrater reliability testing using Cohen's kappa.
• Estimation of mean bone loss using linear regression analysis over a maximum observation period of 60 months.

Main Results:

• Mean peri-implant bone loss in the right posterior mandible was 1.68 mm distally and 1.65 mm mesially.
• Mean peri-implant bone loss in the left posterior maxilla was 0.61 mm distally and 0.59 mm mesially.
• Overall mean bone loss at 60 months post-surgery was 1.05 mm.

Conclusions:

• Marginal bone loss around dental implants in SSc patients is comparable to that observed in healthy subjects.
• Systemic scleroderma does not appear to significantly increase the risk of peri-implant bone loss.
• Radiological monitoring of dental implants in SSc patients can follow standard protocols.