Dental Implants

Dental implants have been widely used to replace teeth and, more importantly, to retain or support intra- and extra-oral prostheses. While intra-oral dental implants are well-developed and thoroughly studied, this is not the case for the extra-oral implants. There are only a handful of longitudinal studies for extra-oral implants. These studies along with several case reports suggest that the success criteria and complications of extra-oral implants are unique to the implant sites. For instance the auricular implants have a survival rate close to 100%. However the success rates were about 75-90% for the nasal and orbital implants. Not only does the uniqueness of anatomic structures affect the survival rate of the extra-oral implants, but often times the maxillofacial patients lose anatomical structure from surgical resection and may also undergo chemotherapy or radiation therapy. These pre-prosthetic treatments can further compromise the survival of the implants and increase complications. In addition to this, the extra-oral environment seems to predispose the implants to soft tissue infection that is distinct from the intra-oral implants, where it is rare to have similar soft tissue complications. The improvement of surgical technique, post-op care, and prosthetic fabrication may have improved the implant survival rate and reduced complications. Challenges and Prospective Applications of Extra-oral Implants for Maxillofacial Rehabilitation: Sompop Bencharit

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Last date updated on April, 2024