Dental implants provide an important alternative in the oral rehabilitation of oral cancer patients, according to a study in the Australian Dental Journal (June 2011, Vol. 56:2, pp. 160-165).
The study authors reported on the clinical experience of dental implant placement in patients following resection of oral cancer during a 15-year period.
Researchers from Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia analyzed the demographic data of 31 patients who had dental implants placed as part of their oral rehabilitation between 1992 and 2007. The demographic data included implant survival, type of prosthesis provided, and details about radiotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
The researchers found a high retention rate, with five implant failures from a total of 115 implants placed. All the failed implants occurred in free flap bone that had been irradiated.
"Patients who undergo surgical management of oral cancer may greatly benefit from an implant-supported prosthesis," the researchers concluded. However, there may be an increased risk of implant failure in free flap bone that has been irradiated, they noted.
