Correlation between marginal bone loss around dental implants and various systemic diseases: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Diminished bone levels or the lack of osseointegration can lead to higher rates of failure of dental implants. The present study is aimed to evaluate the correlation between hypertension, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia, on the marginal bone loss (MBL) surrounding dental implants among patients attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas dental clinics.

Methods: Clinical notes from patients at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) dental clinics were analyzed using AxiUm™ software. The study included patients with dental implants diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia who attended the UNLV School of Dental Medicine clinics from 2012 to 2022. Exclusions were made for patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome and those with a limited number of radiographs. A search was conducted using keywords such as 'systemic disease,' 'marginal bone loss,' 'dental implant,' 'high cholesterol,' 'hypertension,' and 'diabetes' within the system.

Results: Out of 1,310 potentially eligible patients, 57 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The total number of evaluated implants was 165. 18% of the sample patients were 55 to 64 years of age, and 79% were 65 or above. 45.6% of patients reported having more than four systemic diseases and 67% of patients had four or more prescription medications. Patients diagnosed with hypertension (78.95%) or hyperlipidemia (73.68%) had the highest presence of marginal bone loss surrounding the dental implant(s) while those with diabetes (40.35%) had the least amount of MBL. Patients diagnosed with both hypertension and hyperlipidemia (29.82%) experienced the highest incidence of MBL around implants. The medications prescribed to combat these health issues, such as statins and antihypertensive, also showed the same trends and corresponded with a higher prevalence of MBL.

Conclusions: Within the limitations of the present investigation, patients diagnosed with hyperlipidemia and hypertension were more likely to exhibit MBL surrounding dental implants.