Dental implants in the medically compromised patient.

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that some local and systemic factors could be contraindications to dental implant treatment. The objective of this paper was to evaluate whether success and survival rates of dental implants are reduced in the medically compromised patient.

DATA/SOURCES: An extensive literature search was conducted using PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Scirus and Cochrane databases up to November 8, 2012.

CONCLUSIONS: There are very few absolute medical contraindications to dental implant treatment, although a number of conditions may increase the risk of treatment failure or complications. The degree of systemic disease-control may be far more important that the nature of the disorder itself, and individualized medical control should be established prior to implant therapy, since in many of these patients the quality of life and functional benefits from dental implants may outweigh any risks.