Mortality Patterns in Partially Edentulous and Edentulous Elderly Patients Treated with Dental Implants

An association between oral health, number of teeth, and mortality has been reported in the literature, but limited knowledge is available on mortality in elderly partially edentulous and edentulous patients treated with implants. Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the mortality pattern in elderly patients (80 years or older) who were provided with implants and were partially or completely edentulous. Materials and Methods: Between 1986 and 2003, a total of 266 elderly patients with a mean age of 83.0 years at the time of implant placement were included. The patients were provided with 1,384 Branemark System implants (Nobel Biocare) in 285 arches. The sample was divided into two subgroups: 108 edentulous patients and 158 partially edentulous patients. Information was collected for each individual regarding expected remaining lifetime at the time of implant surgery. Cumulative survival rate (CSR) was calculated and compared for the two subgroups covering 10 years and was also compared to expected CSR data for normal populations of comparable distribution. Results: Mortality was significantly decreased (P < .05) for partially edentulous compared with edentulous patients (-10.4%) after 10 years of follow-up. CSR for the elderly groups showed a significant decrease in mortality compared with comparable groups of normal populations (P < .05). There was no significant difference in morality between healthy/nonhealthy patients at first surgery or patients with reported/unreported implant failures (P > .05). Conclusions: Elderly partially edentulous patients had significantly lower mortality compared with edentulous patients over a 10-year period of follow-up. Both subgroups also showed significantly lower mortality compared with normal populations of comparable sex and age at the time of implant surgery. The observation is interpreted as that these patients are healthier and more motivated to replace their lost teeth with implants than the normal population rather than that implant treatment per se reduces mortality.