Dental implants in patients with oral mucosal alterations: An update.

Objective: To determine whether a series of diseases of the oral mucosa - Sjögren syndrome, ectodermal dysplasia, epidermolysis bullosa and lichen planus - reduce the survival rate of dental implants.

Material And Method: A Medline search was carried out using the key words: " Sjögren syndrome ", "ectodermal dysplasia ", "epidermolysis bullosa ", "lichen planus " and "dental implants ", including those publications involving clinical series comprising more than one patient with the mentioned disorders and treated with dental implants, in the last 10 years.

Results: The study included three articles involving patients with Sjögren syndrome subjected to dental implant treatment, representing a total of 12 patients and 86 implants, with a mean pondered success rate of 86.33%. As regards ectodermal dysplasia, we included 14 articles, of which 11 corresponded to clinical series, two were reviews and one constituted a survey of dental professionals. The percentage success rate of the implants varied between 35.7-100%. In relation to epidermolysis bullosa, we included 6 articles corresponding to clinical series, with a total of 16 patients and 92 implants, and a success rate between 75-100%. In the case of oral lichen planus we found only two articles corresponding to clinical case series, with a total of 5 patients and 14 implants, and an implant survival rate of 100%.

Conclusions: Based on our review of the literature, dental implant rehabilitation in patients of this kind is seen to be a valid treatment option, with a high percentage success rate. Long-term patient follow-up is essential in order to periodically monitor the condition of the disease and of the implants.