Dental Implants’ Success and Adjacent Teeth Endodontic Condition: Systematic Review

Objectives: Placement of dental implants adjacent to teeth with inflammation, like periapical lesion (PAL), may have implications on implant prognosis. The aim of this study was to systematically collect all the available evidence, regarding the influence of the endodontic status of adjacent teeth on dental implants’ prognosis.
Methods: The authors conducted a systematic electronic search using the Medline, Embase (PubMed), EBSCO, CINHAL, COCHRANE and SCOPUSE databases in August 2019. They further supplemented this search with hand-search citation mining process. All types of human or animal studies that addressed the endodontic condition of the adjacent tooth and evaluated dental implants’ success or survival were analyzed and evaluated according to the PRISMA and NOS guidelines.

Results: Overall, the authors identified 7 human studies and 1 study in dogs. There were several studies that found lower success rates of dental implants placed adjacent to endodontically treated teeth or teeth with PALs, however, the results were inconsistent.

Conclusions: Although there is evidence to support an association between the endodontic condition of the adjacent tooth and the success of dental implants, it is not enough to support causative relationship. Nevertheless, clinicians should treat any active sources of infection and inflammation in adjacent teeth prior to insertion of dental implants.