Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Have Higher Rates of Peri-implantitis

Objectives: A large number of dental implants are placed currently and while they have been shown to be a predictable treatment modality to replace missing teeth, published rates of peri-implantitis range from 12-43% within 5 years after functional loading. This retrospective analysis sought to investigate the overall rate of peri-implantitis among endosseous dental implants placed in a residency program and the overall risk factors for peri-implantitis within that population.
Methods: 144 implants in 47 patients placed in Postgraduate Periodontal Clinic at the University of Alabama that had been restored in function for 6-119 months were analyzed to determine overall rates of peri-implantitis defined as progressive radiographic bone loss, PD ≥ 6mm, or infection noted by the treating dentist. Smoking status, diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), implant system, intraoral implant site, placement torque and previous grafting were also evaluated using chi-square analysis to determine additional factors related to peri-implantitis.
Results: Overall, 14.6% of implants demonstrated signs of peri-implantitis and those failures were seen in 6 out of 47 (12.7%) patients. 42% of implants placed in patients with DM experienced peri-implantitis, as compared with 10% of implants placed in non-diabetic patients (p =0.0013). There were no statistically significant differences based upon smoking status, implant system, placement site, placement torque, or previous grafting.
Conclusions: In this investigation, rates of peri-implantitis were similar to those previously described. DM may have a negative impact of development of peri-implantitis. Further investigations to elucidate the mechanisms of this interaction are necessary.