Patients undergoing craniofacial tumour ablation surgery may benefit from having the implants placed simultaneously instead of waiting

Abstract

Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies and the reference lists of the full-text articles were checked for any additional studies. Included studies were randomised clinical trials (RCT) and non-RCT, cohort studies, case-control studies, case reports, or reviews that addressed the placement of dental implants at the same time as primary oncological resection in people suffering from cancer of the head and neck (primary implant insertion); or addressed benign or malignant tumours and the placement of implants into the native maxilla, mandible and zygoma, and grafted tissue. Articles were restricted to those written in English. The title and abstracts were reviewed independently by two reviewers. Data extraction was conducted independently and a qualitative synthesis of the data presented. Three case reports, 13 reviews, and 25 clinical studies were selected. Eight of the clinical studies referred solely to the insertion of dental implants at the time of primary oncological resection, and only two were of a prospective design. Published studies concerning primary dental implants were concisely summarised, so that the collected evidence base surrounding this approach to oral rehabilitation could inform head and neck cancer teams, particularly oncological surgeons, restorative dentists, and maxillofacial prosthodontists.