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

The purpose of the present study was to assess the clinical outcome of dental implants in a series of patients with Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), as well as review of the literature. The study consisted of two parts: report of a case series and a systematic review. Results of the clinical series: 19 patients received 107 implants, followed for a mean of 125 months. Two patients lost 3 implants (failure rate 2.80%, 3/107). At the last follow-up, there was a mean±SD marginal bone loss (MBL) of -2.190±1.384 mm. Estimation of 4.39 mm of MBL after 30 years. Results of the review: 19 studies, including the present clinical series, with 712 implants in 186 patients (failure rate 4.11%, 29/705; failed at a mean time of 12.9±31.7 months), followed up for a mean of 72.5 months. The probability of failure was 2.8% (95% CI 1.6%, 4.1%). Primary SS had lower implant failure rate (2.54%, 3/118) than secondary SS patients (6.52%, 12/184). As a conclusion, dental implants should be considered by dentists as a viable treatment option in patients with SS, as the failure rate is fairly low. The SS patients may, however, present a higher MBL around implants than in the general population