Antibiotic prophylaxis and early dental implant failure: a quasi-random controlled clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of three different antibiotic regimens in reducing early dental implant failure.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

In a controlled clinical trial, 270 consecutively treated patients were allocated to three antibiotic groups, alternatively, according to order of participation in the trial: Group A (2 g amoxicillin single preoperative dose), Group B (single preoperative 2 g amoxicillin followed by 500 mg three times daily for 5 days) and Group C (postoperative amoxicillin with clavulanic acid 625 mg three times daily for 5 days). Outcomes were pain, wound infection, dehiscence, adverse events possibly related to antibiotics and early implant failure. The patients were followed postoperatively at 1 week, 1 month and at the beginning of the prosthetic stage. Chi-square test and ANOVA test were used to examine differences.

RESULTS

In total, 240 patients were adherent to the trial protocol: Group A, 73 patients (210 implants); Group B, 79 patients (266 implants); and Group C, 88 patients (290 implants). Patients experiencing early implant failure: 12 in Group A (16.4%), 11 in Group B (13.9%) and 13 in Group C (14.8%). No statistically significant differences were observed for any of the outcome measures between the three groups.

CONCLUSIONS

It may not be necessary to provide postoperative antibiotics in patients undergoing dental implant placement, however, these preliminary findings need to be confirmed by large multicentre clinical trials.