Implant Periapical Lesion: A Narrative Review

Implant periapical lesion (IPL) is an infectious-inflammatory alteration surrounding an implant apex. It is a multifactorial disease that may ultimately cause implant failure. The diagnosis of IPL is based on examination of clinical manifestations and apical radiolucency. Many etiologies have been attributed to IPL, including preexisting microbial pathology and surgical trauma. Moreover, many systems have been used to classify IPL based on different parameters. To date, non-surgical and surgical treatment, as well as removal of failed implants, have been considered to successfully manage IPL. However, prevention of IPL surpasses all modes of treatment. An increased number of IPL cases are expected as implants have become standard for tooth replacement in dentate arches. Therefore, it is necessary to understand IPL more comprehensively. Herein, an introduction to IPL, including its etiology, diagnosis, classification, treatment, and prevention, has been undertaken.

What Is the Role of Endodontic Predisposing Factors in Early Implant Failure?

We aimed to investigate a possible relationship between early implant failure (EIF) and an adjacent root canal-treated tooth and/or tooth with a periapical lesion (PL), considering the duration between implantation and root canal treatment (RCT). The importance of prior RCT and/or presence of a PL before implantation was also investigated. A total of 810 implants from 342 patients were included and scored according to the implant failure before abutment connection, adjacent root canal treated teeth, adjacent teeth without RCT, no adjacent teeth, adjacent teeth with PL, extraction of teeth with PL, and/or RCT before implantation. The durations between the extraction and implantation and between RCT and implantation adjacent to the root canal-treated teeth were recorded. The time from the RCT of adjacent teeth to implant placement was categorized into 5 groups: less than 4 weeks before implantation, 4-12 weeks before implantation, at least 12 weeks before implantation, within 4 weeks after implantation, and at least 4 weeks after implantation. Among the endodontic predictors, a prior PL on the tooth extracted was associated with an increased risk of EIF (P < .05, odds ratio: 4.37; 95% confidence interval: 1.604-11.891). Furthermore, EIF was more likely to occur when the RCT of an adjacent tooth was performed within 4 weeks of implantation (P < .05). Additional investigations with larger sample sizes are necessary to validate our findings.

An alternative treatment for hopeless implants: Coronal resection

Dental implant surgery is a highly reliable therapy with widespread use all over the world. However, various accidental symptoms and complications such as peri-implantitis have been reported, and occasionally necessitate implant removal. This alternative technique was performed to minimize the harmful effect of conventional resective explantation procedures. The present case concerns a 55-year-old woman who had two dental implants in the mandibular incisor regions who apparently developed severe marginal peri-implantitis. Presence of lesion was confirmed by two and three-dimensional radiographic images. Explantation was indicated because of the excessive ongoing bone loss around implants. Due to avoid serious complications such as jaw fracture, coronal resection technique (partial explantation) was suggested. After the full thickness flap was elevated, affected part of both implants were resected, and osseointegrated healthy apical parts were left in the basal bone. Wound healing was uneventful at one week follow-up. Proper locater abutments were tightened after 5 months of the partial explantation procedure, and final denture was applied in the oral cavity. The radiologic and clinical examinations showed successful outcome at 12-months follow-up. Minimally resective peri-implantitis therapy may be achieved using this non-traumatic coronal implant resection approach.

Peri-implantitis

OBJECTIVES

This narrative review provides an evidence-based overview on peri-implantitis for the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions.

METHODS

A literature review was conducted addressing the following topics: 1) definition of peri-implantitis; 2) conversion from peri-implant mucositis to peri-implantitis, 3) onset and pattern of disease progression, 4) characteristics of peri-implantitis, 5) risk factors/indicators for peri-implantitis, and 6) progressive crestal bone loss in the absence of soft tissue inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

1)Peri-implantitis is a pathological condition occurring in tissues around dental implants, characterized by inflammation in the peri-implant connective tissue and progressive loss of supporting bone. 2)The histopathologic and clinical conditions leading to the conversion from peri-implant mucositis to peri-implantitis are not completely understood. 3)The onset of peri-implantitis may occur early during follow-up and the disease progresses in a non-linear and accelerating pattern. 4a)Peri-implantitis sites exhibit clinical signs of inflammation and increased probing depths compared to baseline measurements. 4b)At the histologic level, compared to periodontitis sites, peri-implantitis sites often have larger inflammatory lesions. 4c)Surgical entry at peri-implantitis sites often reveals a circumferential pattern of bone loss. 5a)There is strong evidence that there is an increased risk of developing peri-implantitis in patients who have a history of chronic periodontitis, poor plaque control skills, and no regular maintenance care after implant therapy. Data identifying "smoking" and "diabetes" as potential risk factors/indicators for peri-implantitis are inconclusive. 5b)There is some limited evidence linking peri-implantitis to other factors such as: post-restorative presence of submucosal cement, lack of peri-implant keratinized mucosa and positioning of implants that make it difficult to perform oral hygiene and maintenance. 6)Evidence suggests that progressive crestal bone loss around implants in the absence of clinical signs of soft tissue inflammation is a rare event.

Peri-implantitis

OBJECTIVES

This narrative review provides an evidence-based overview on peri-implantitis for the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions.

METHODS

A literature review was conducted addressing the following topics: 1) definition of peri-implantitis; 2) conversion from peri-implant mucositis to peri-implantitis, 3) onset and pattern of disease progression, 4) characteristics of peri-implantitis, 5) risk factors/indicators for peri-implantitis, and 6) progressive crestal bone loss in the absence of soft tissue inflammation.

CONCLUSIONS

1)Peri-implantitis is a pathological condition occurring in tissues around dental implants, characterized by inflammation in the peri-implant connective tissue and progressive loss of supporting bone. 2)The histopathologic and clinical conditions leading to the conversion from peri-implant mucositis to peri-implantitis are not completely understood. 3)The onset of peri-implantitis may occur early during follow-up and the disease progresses in a non-linear and accelerating pattern. 4a)Peri-implantitis sites exhibit clinical signs of inflammation and increased probing depths compared to baseline measurements. 4b)At the histologic level, compared to periodontitis sites, peri-implantitis sites often have larger inflammatory lesions. 4c)Surgical entry at peri-implantitis sites often reveals a circumferential pattern of bone loss. 5a)There is strong evidence that there is an increased risk of developing peri-implantitis in patients who have a history of chronic periodontitis, poor plaque control skills, and no regular maintenance care after implant therapy. Data identifying "smoking" and "diabetes" as potential risk factors/indicators for peri-implantitis are inconclusive. 5b)There is some limited evidence linking peri-implantitis to other factors such as: post-restorative presence of submucosal cement, lack of peri-implant keratinized mucosa and positioning of implants that make it difficult to perform oral hygiene and maintenance. 6)Evidence suggests that progressive crestal bone loss around implants in the absence of clinical signs of soft tissue inflammation is a rare event.

Periapical implant lesion: A systematic review

Background

The aim of this study was to systematically review the evidence for periapical implant lesion, which makes a patient more susceptible to the periapical lesion, frequency, symptoms, signs (including radiological findings) and possible treatment options.

Material and Methods

A systematic literature review and analysis of publications included in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane; articles published until March 2016; with a populations, exposures and outcomes (PEO) search strategy was performed, focused on the issue: “In patients with periapical lesion to the implant during the osseointegration, what symptoms, signs, and changes in complementary examination manifested, for according to that stage, be intervened with the appropriate approach?”. The set criteria for inclusion were peer-reviewed articles.

Results

From a total of 212 papers identified, 36 studies were included in this systematic review, with 15461 implants evaluated and 183 periapical implant lesions. Which 8 papers included more than 5 cases and 28 included equal or less than 5 cases. Analysis of the papers revealed that periapical implant lesion is classified according to evolution stages into acute (non-suppurated and suppurated) and subacute (or suppurated-fistulized). In the acute stage and in the subacute if there is no loss of implant stability, the correct treatment approach is implant periapical surgery. In the subacute stage associated with implant mobility the implant must be removed.

Conclusions

Evidence on the subject is very limited, there are few studies with small sample, without homogeneity of criteria for diagnosing the disease and without design of scientific evidence. Currently etiology lacks consensus. The early diagnosis of periapical implant periapical lesions during the osseointegration phase and early treatment, will lead to a higher survival rate of implants treated, hence preventing the need for implant extraction.

Key words:Apical peri-implantitis, retrograde peri-implantitis, inflammatory peri-implantitis lesion.

Assessment of Intraobserver and Interobserver Agreement of a New Classification System for Retrograde Periimplantitis

BACKGROUND

Retrograde periimplantitis (RPI) is the inflammatory disease that affects the apical part of an osseointegrated implant while the coronal portion of the implant sustains a normal bone-to-implant interface. The aim of the current study was to assess the intraexaminer and interexaminer reliability of a proposed new classification system for RPI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

After thorough electronic literature search, 56 intraoral periapical radiographs (IOPA) of implants with RPI were collected and were classified by 2 independent reviewers as per the new classification system into one of the 3-mild, moderate, and advanced-classes based on the amount of bone loss from the apex of the implant to the most coronal part as a percentage of the total implant length. The IOPAs were assessed twice by the same examiners and both were blinded to each other's observations.

RESULTS

The intraobserver agreement ranged from 0.85 to 0.91, which falls under the category of almost perfect agreement. The interexaminer agreement was found to be 0.83, also considered as almost perfect agreement.

CONCLUSION

The proposed classification shows good intraexaminer and interexaminer reliability and can be used for treatment planning and prognosis in cases of RPI.

A Radiographic Classification for Retrograde Peri-implantitis

BACKGROUND

Retrograde peri-implantitis (RPI) is an inflammatory disease that affects the apical part of an osseointegrated implant, while the coronal portion of the implant sustains a normal bone-to-implant interface. It is a diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma for implantologists. There is lack of a standard classification system and a definite treatment algorithm for the same. This article aims to introduce a classification system for RPI based on the radiographic amount of bone loss around an implant apex.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A search of PubMed database was conducted with the keywords "retrograde peri-implantitis" and "implant periapical lesion." Preoperative intraoral periapical (IOPA) radiographs of implants with RPI in case reports/case series were compiled. A total of 54 lOPAs from 36 articles were compiled and were assessed.

RESULTS

Three different classes were proposed. The amount of bone loss from the apex of the implant to the most coronal part of radiolucency was calculated as a percentage of the total implant length and classified into one of the three classes: Mild, moderate, and advanced. Treatment options and prognosis have been suggested for each class.

CONCLUSION

The proposed classification may allow for an easy and reproducible radiographic assessment of the RPI lesion and may serve as a guideline to prognosis and treatment planning.