Complications in implant dentistry

Content
Scientific literature presents information on the occurrence of complications when implant supported and retained prostheses are provided to patients. Traditionally these complications have been considered equally but some require only minimal intervention to rectify while others demand complete re-treatment. This presentation will evaluate different categories of complications on the basis of the time, expense and expertise needed to rectify the treatment complications. Likewise, maintenance issues and anticipated outcomes related to aging will be differentiated from clinical complications. The modern era of implant dentistry began with the recognition that implants could reliably achieve a state of clinical immobility whereby living bone develops in direct physical contact to the alloplastic implant. This process became known as "osseointegration". Prior to the era of osseointegration dental implants were prone to progressive bone deteriorationover time. Infections associated with dental implants were not uncommon and long-term survival of implants was unpredictable. With the advent of osseointegration early studies evaluated survival of implants and very little else. Given the status of implant dentistry at that time this limited analysis appeared prudent however the process of osseointegration has now been documented for over 40 years and is now appropriate to consider more than simple implant survival. Over this time period studies that assessed clinical complications did so in a descriptive way rather than as a qualitative assessment. Only two complications studies have been published that look at more than 500 patients and more than 1000 implants for five years or more. Both of these studies were co-authored by the speaker. This presentation will review the pertinent information on clinical complications as documented in the literature and in the speaker's practice at the Mayo Clinic. Beyond evaluation of complications the speaker will describe severity of complications in an attempt to differentiate between clinical complications and issues related to maintenance of prostheses. In addition careful analysis of factors that influence the survival of implants will be assessed in an effort to determine specific risk factors. Factors that influence clinical performance beyond implant survival will be discussed relative to the design of implants and of prosthetic components. Please note: I am enclosing two different synopses for this presentation. The first one is quite short while the second one provides more detail. I asked the you choose the appropriate one given the space constraints for the program brochure.