Prevalence of early and late oral implant loss among smokers: a nationwide survey in Japan

A cross-sectional, nationwide survey was conducted in Japan to examine the relationship between tobacco smoking and oral diseases including implant failure. A questionnaire survey was sent to designated facilities by post, and 158 answered questions regarding implant loss. Smoking status, number of implant failures, and other related variables were collected from the participating dentists as secondary data. A total of 1966 patients who were treated with dental implants by participating dentists during the survey period were analysed. Among the total sample, 90 (5%) had early implant loss (≤12 months) and 153 (8%) had late implant loss (>12 months and ≤120 months). The number of pack-years was significantly higher in the total (early and late) implant loss group (31.2±15.9) than in the group with no implant loss (26.1±18.1) (P=0.026). In the multivariate analysis, the number of implants installed, smoking, and pack-years were significant factors for total implant loss. The adjusted odds ratio for implant failure for current smokers compared with never smokers was 2.07 (95% CI 1.19-3.62) for early implant loss and 1.48 (95% CI 0.92-2.37) for late implant loss. This study reaffirms that current smoking is associated with an increased risk of early implant loss, irrespective of the duration of smoking exposure.