Major outcomes of dental implants in oncological patients: a concise systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: The etiology of oral cancer is multifactorial resulting from several factors that predispose to the development of this pathology. The rehabilitation of oral functions after jaw surgery in patients with oral cancer is a goal that is often difficult to achieve. Dental implants offer a mechanism to provide stability to prostheses. Objective: This study aimed to present the main outcomes of dental implants in cancer patients. Methods: The systematic review rules of the PRISMA Platform were followed. The search was carried out from February to May 2023 in the Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Scielo, and Google Scholar databases, using articles from 2013 to 2023. The quality of the studies was based on the GRADE instrument and the risk of bias was analyzed according to the Cochrane instrument. Results and Conclusion: A total of 118 articles were found, 34 articles were evaluated in full and 14 were included and developed in this systematic review study. Considering the Cochrane tool for risk of bias, the overall assessment resulted in 32 studies with a high risk of bias and 32 studies that did not meet GRADE. It was concluded that implants inserted into irradiated bone showed significantly lower survival. Head and neck radiotherapy has always been considered a risk factor for rehabilitation with dental implants. However, recent data suggest that the overall 5-year implant survival in irradiated patients may be greater than 90%.