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.
Early Implant Failure Associated With Patient Factors, Surgical Manipulations, and Systemic Conditions
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.