Dental implants treatment outcomes in patient under active therapy with alendronate: 3-year follow-up results of a multicenter prospective observational study

ObjectiveTo evaluate the 3-year clinical and radiographic data of fixed implant-supported dental prosthesis delivered to patients having taken alendronate 35-70mg weekly for at least 3years before implant placement. Materials and MethodsForty consecutive patients treated with oral bisphosphonates and requiring an implant-supported restoration were recruited in two private centers between January 2008 and December 2011. Implants were inserted through minimally invasive approach under antibacterial and antibiotic treatment, 6months after alendronate administration stopping. After 4months of submerged healing, implants underwent prosthetic loading. Hygiene maintenance and clinical assessments were scheduled every 4months for 3years. Outcome measures were the following: implant and prosthetic success, survival rates, any observed clinical complications, marginal bone remodeling, probing pocket depth and bleeding-on-probing. ResultsAt the end of the study, eight patients dropped out. The final sample size resulted in 32 consecutive partially or fully edentulous patients (32 females; mean age 64.6years) with 98 submerged implants. In only one patient, maxillary implant failed during healing period. No prosthesis failed during the entire follow-up, and no major complications were recorded. Implant and prostheses success resulted in an overall survival rate of 98, 98% and 100%, respectively. Three-year mean marginal bone loss was 1.350.21 (CI 95% 1.24-1.38). Successful soft tissue parameters were found around all implants. ConclusionsOral bisphosphonate therapy did not appear to significantly affect implant survival and success in case of accurate treatment time selection, minimally invasive surgical approach and constant follow-up. Further prospective studies involving larger sample sizes and longer durations of follow-up are required to confirm these results.