Carr, Alan B.

Background: Approximately 75% of all head and neck cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy (RT). RT to the oral cavity results in acute and late adverse events which can be severe and detrimental to a patient’s quality of life and function. The purpose of this study was to explore associations between RT dose to a defined oral cavity organ-at-risk (OAR) avoidance structure, provider- and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), opioid use, and hospitalization. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively obtained outcomes using multivariable modeling. The study included 196 patients treated with RT involving the oral cavity for a head and neck tumor. A defined oral cavity OAR avoidance structure was used in all patients for RT treatment planning. Validated PROs were collected prospectively. Opioid use and hospitalization were abstracted electronically from medical records. Results: Multivariable modeling revealed the mean dose to the oral cavity OAR was significantly associated with opioid use (p = 0.0082) and hospitalization (p = 0.0356) during and within 30 days of completing RT. Conclusions: The findings of this study may be valuable in RT treatment planning for patients with tumors of the head and neck region to reduce the need for opioid use and hospitalization during treatment.

Background: In 2007, the American Heart Association (AHA) infective endocarditis (IE) prevention guidelines recommended that antibiotic prophylaxis before invasive dental procedures for the “moderate risk” (MR) group, which represented the bulk of patients who were to receive prophylaxis before 2007, be eliminated. This decision was met with much concern among some healthcare providers and that concern persists today. We therefore evaluated dental office records in Olmsted County (OC), Minnesota to determine whether patients included in the MR group continue to receive antibiotic prophylaxis despite the 2007 AHA recommendations. Methods: Eligible patients include all adult (≥18 years) residents of OC, classified as having MR cardiac condition for IE (i.e. mitral valve prolapse [MVP], bicuspid aortic valve [BAV], hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy [HOCM], acquired valvular dysfunction [AVD]), with at least one dental visit between January 1, 2005 and June 1, 2015. Eight dental offices located within OC were sampled to identify both dental procedures and whether antibiotic prophylaxis was administered according to AHA guidelines. Results: We identified 334 MR patients. Approximately 62% of MR patients received antibiotic prophylaxis prior to the change in AHA guidelines in 2007. There was a decrease to 7% post-2007 AHA guidelines (P<.001). The magnitude of decline was greater among visits for dental cleanings (from 63% to 6%), as compared to other invasive procedures (57% to 11%; P=0.003) (Figure 1). AVD was the most common cardiac condition (85%), followed by MVP (8%), and BAV (4%). Conclusion: Following publication of the 2007 AHA IE prevention guidelines, there was a rapid, 9-fold decrease in antibiotic prophylaxis in patients with MR cardiac conditions who underwent invasive dental procedures in OC. These data are also critical as we attempt to evaluate the impact, if any, of this practice on the incidence of IE due to viridans group streptococci.

AbstractPurposeTo identify associations between implant failure and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medication use in a cohort of consecutive patients receiving dental implants during a 20‐year period.Materials and MethodsA retrospective review was conducted of all patients who received at least 1 dental implant from January 1, 1995, through December 31, 2014, assessing their history of SSRI use, active SSRI use, and SSRI use during follow‐up with implant failure. Cox proportional hazards regression models assessed associations between demographic characteristics and SSRI use with implant failure, and outcomes were summarized with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Follow‐up SSRI use was analyzed with time‐dependent covariates.ResultsDuring the study period, 5456 patients received their first implant (median age, 53 years). The median duration of follow‐up was 5.3 years (interquartile range, 2.3‐10.2 years) for the 4927 patients who did not have implant failure. For the 529 patients who had implant failure, it occurred at a median of 0.5 years. After adjusting for age, sex, and era of implant, history of use of the SSRI sertraline was associated with an increased risk of implant failure among all patients (hazard ratio [HR], 1.60; 95% CI, 1.15‐2.23; p = 0.006) and among the subset of patients with a history of SSRI use (HR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.07‐2.52; p = 0.02).ConclusionsIn the population reviewed, a history of sertraline use was associated with a 60% greater risk of implant failure; however, active SSRI use at the time of implant placement or during follow‐up was not significantly associated with an increased risk of implant failure.

AbstractPurposeTo identify associations between early implant failure and prosthodontic characteristics that could be used to guide subsequent continuous quality improvement efforts of patient care.Materials and MethodsAn implant‐level analysis was performed in which data were abstracted from a prospective clinical database of all adult patients treated with implants and followed up from January 2000 through December 2014 at the Department of Dental Specialties at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. These data were used to determine time to implant failure. Associations between prosthodontic characteristics and early implant failure were evaluated with Cox proportional hazards regression models and summarized with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsAmong 8762 implants in 2787 patients, 395 (4.5%) failed within the first year of placement at a mean (SD) of 127 (97) days (range, 2‐364 days). Univariable analysis showed no associations between early implant failure and use of a cover screw, prosthesis, or definitive or provisional prosthesis at implant placement. Three of 25 single crowns failed, and use of a single crown was significantly associated with early implant failure (HR, 3.94; 95% CI, 1.08‐14.35; P = 0.04). This study identified no significant associations between prosthodontic characteristics identified after implant placement and early implant failure.ConclusionsUse of a prosthesis at implant placement, use of a definitive or provisional prosthesis, and early mechanical complications were not associated with increased risk of early implant failure. Quality improvement efforts should focus on aspects of decision making that aim to decrease surgical complications.

Abstract Purpose Systematic monitoring of important clinical outcomes is increasingly important for health‐care decision making, especially in the context of continuous quality improvement. Dental implant failure within the first year (early failure) has been previously shown to be more common than subsequent failure. The purpose of this study was to identify associations between early implant failure and patient factors, surgical manipulations, and systemic conditions. Materials and Methods The authors retrospectively identified the records of consecutive adult patients with dental implants seen between 2000 and 2014 in the Department of Dental Specialties, at the Mayo Clinic. Demographic, surgical, and medical data were extracted from the database and individual medical records to determine time to first implant failure. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess associations of demographic, surgical, and systemic conditions with implant failure during the first year post‐implantation, summarized as hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI]). Results Among 8540 implants identified during the study period, 362 (4.2%) failed within the first year of placement at a mean (SD) of 129 (96) days after placement. On univariate analysis, most candidate predictors were not shown to influence first‐year failure. Preplacement surgical manipulations associated with increased early implant failure were bone augmentation only (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.02‐2.05; p = 0.04), socket preservation (HR, 2.67; 95% CI, 1.33‐5.38; p = 0.006), and xenogenic material (HR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.11‐4.04; p = 0.02). Alveoloplasty only at placement was associated with decreased early implant failure (HR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.17‐0.65; p = 0.001). Overall, 318 implants (3.7%) had surgical complications within the first year of placement at a mean (SD) of 110 (114) days after placement; any surgical complication was significantly associated with early implant failure (hazard ratio, 15.84; 95% CI, 11.10‐22.61; p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, sex, and implant era, no single or multiple medical condition(s) and no single or multiple medication(s) increased patient risk of implant failure in the first year after placement. Conclusions These findings support a targeted effort to reduce the incidence of surgical complications to reduce early failure of dental implants.

AbstractPurposeThe probability of achieving important clinical outcomes is an increasingly important factor for patients considering various treatment options for tooth loss. For oral reconstruction involving dental implants, the patient‐specific risks of implant failure may be influenced by the patient's medication profile. The purpose of this study was to identify associations between dental implant failure and medication use in a consecutive series of patients seen from October 1983 through December 2014 at the Department of Dental Specialties, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota).Materials and MethodsIn this patient‐level analysis, demographic, implant‐specific, and medical profile data were abstracted from a prospective clinical database and individual medical records and used to determine the time to first implant failure. Implant failure‐free survival at the patient level was estimated using the Kaplan‐Meier method. Associations of demographic characteristics and medication use with implant failure were evaluated by using Cox proportional hazards regression models and summarized with hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.ResultsIn the 31‐year study period, 6358 patients received their first dental implant (median age, 53 years). The median follow‐up duration of the 5645 patients whose implants did not fail was 5.8 years, and 713 patients had implant failure (median, 0.6 years). All associations were adjusted for age, sex, and era of implantation because these features strongly influence medication use and implant failure. After adjustment, no medication increased the risk of implant failure in the cohort; specifically, medication use at the time of implant placement or starting a medication after implant placement did not increase the risk of implant failure. Among the medications used at the time of implant placement, corticosteroids were associated with a reduced risk of implant failure (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.67‐0.99; p = 0.04). This association was not seen when corticosteroids were started after implant placement.ConclusionIn the population studied, medication use was not associated with an increased risk of dental implant failure.

Background Since 1972, patients with large nasal perforations, who were symptomatic, and who were not candidates for surgery, had the option of custom prosthetic closure at Mayo Clinic. Although septal prostheses have helped many patients, 27% of pre-1982 patients chose not to keep the prosthesis in place. Two-dimensional computed tomography (CT) sizing resulted in more of the patients choosing to retain the prosthesis. The introduction of three-dimensional (3-D) printing to the sizing process offered the potential of further improved retention by refinement in prosthesis fit. Objective To describe the fabrication of nasal septal prostheses by using 3-D printing for sizing and to compare the retention rate of 3-D-sized prostheses with those that used previous sizing methods. Methods Twenty-one consecutive patients who had placement of septal prostheses sized by using 3-D printed templates were studied. CT image data were used to print 3-D templates of the exact shape of the patient's septal perforation, and medical-grade silastic prostheses were fabricated to fit. In four cases, the 3-D printed template allowed preoperative surgical simulation. Metrics collected included prosthesis retention; symptoms, including intranasal crusting and epistaxis; and previous prosthetic closure failures. Results Twenty of the twenty-one patients had improvement in symptoms. The mean diameter of the perforations was 2.4 cm; the mean closure time by the end of the study period was 2.2 years. All but two patients chose to keep their prosthesis in place, for a retention rate of 90%. Seven patients with successful closure had failed previously with prior prosthesis sized without the current 3-D printing methodology. This 90% retention rate exceeded the previous rates before the introduction of 3-D sizing. Conclusion Sizing done by 3-D printing for prosthetic closure of nasal septal perforations resulted in a higher retention rate in helping patients with these most-challenging nasal septal perforations.

AbstractProsthodontics has a rich history related to the principles embedded in evidence‐based health care. This paper reviews the evidence‐based prosthodontics activity over the past 3 decades. It also discusses the impact of health care reform on evidence‐based medicine as it relates to broader context of care outcomes. Finally, the value associated with an Evidence Stewardship emphasis in prosthodontics is presented. This emphasis suggests that combining evidence from clinical trials with evidence from clinical practice environments best equips clinicians for the management of patients in the future. Adoption of a strategic Evidence Stewardship direction is an extended commitment to change that recognizes health care reform aims and seeks to be an accountable provider group in the broader health care arena. The vision to form a representative network of prosthodontic practitioners that augments a commitment to Cochrane “clinical trial” data demonstrates a responsibility to professional transparency about who we are, adds value for patients and oral health care providers, impacts teachers and students in dental education, and provides a measure of care accountability unique in dentistry.