Dental implants in patients with Sjögren's syndrome: a case series and a systematic review

The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical outcomes of dental implants in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). The study consisted of two parts: report of a case series and a systematic review of the literature. The results of the clinical series revealed that 19 patients received 107 implants and were followed for a mean of 125months. Two patients lost three implants (failure rate 2.8%, 3/107). At the last follow-up, there was a mean marginal bone loss (MBL) of -2.190±1.384 mm; estimated MBL after 30 years was 4.39mm. The review identified 18 studies, resulting in 19 studies for analysis including the present clinical series. A total of 712 implants were placed in 186 patients; 705 implants were followed up for a mean of 72.5 months (failure rate 4.1%, 29/705; failed at a mean time of 12.9±31.7months). The probability of failure was 2.8% (95% confidence interval 1.6-4.1%). Primary SS patients had a lower implant failure rate (2.5%, 3/118) than secondary SS patients (6.5%, 12/184). In conclusion, dental implants should be considered by dentists as a viable treatment option for patients with SS, as the failure rate is fairly low. SS patients may, however, present a higher MBL around implants than patients from the general population.