From Volume 49, Issue 1, January 2022 | Pages 14-24
With dental implants becoming a more common treatment option for the replacement of missing teeth, and with survival rates upwards of 90% after 10 years, it is likely that primary care dentists and dental care professionals will encounter patients presenting with problems. The second article in this two-article series outlines common biological and mechanical complications arising with dental implants and their component parts, and how to manage them.
A complication in terms of implant dentistry may be considered as a non-ideal event or outcome. They can be broadly defined into three categories:1
Biological complications are multifactorial in origin, but primarily arise from plaque biofilm accumulation around the components of implants causing inflammation, bone loss and possibly leading to implant loss. Plaque biofilm accumulation is a result of suboptimal patient-performed oral hygiene, and it can be exacerbated by a poorly designed prosthesis preventing adequate plaque removal.2 Biological complications can also encompass soft-tissue complications, such as fistulae and peri-implant tissue overgrowth (Figure 1).
Peri-implant health is defined as an absence of visual inflammation, swelling and suppuration, a lack of bleeding on probing, probing-pocket depths (PPD) of <5 mm and the absence of bone loss beyond initial crestal remodelling occurring within the first year in function (which should be no greater than 2 mm) (Figure 2).3
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