Recognition and treatment of implant complications

Recognition and treatment of implant complications
August 2004
Charles A. Babbush, DDS, MScD
Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Online
For all the years that dental implants have been utilized, there has always been a segment of cases that develop complications and/or are failures. Over the 35 years that I carried out implant reconstruction, I have tried a variety of techniques to salvage these implants and/or to treat the secondary effects of failure.
In order to establish the proper sequence of therapy, proper diagnosis and treatment planning must be carried out to determine the appropriate bone quality and quantity as well as the proper size and the number of implants so that the bio-engineering of the case overall is appropriate.
Implants fail for three main reasons:
The system
The patient
The doctor
With the current generation and sophistication of the implant systems that are now being utilized, there is virtually no longer a problem with system failures. Therefore, the major factors that play into the development of complications and failures are based on doctor generated or patient generated etiology.
This presentation will deal with some of the etiological factors which generate complications and failures: surgical insertion, design of the prosthesis, soft tissue factors, maintenance and hygiene, and para-functional habits.
Over the past four years, I have developed a protocol for the treatment of these problems:
Recognition of the etiological factors causing the problem.
In most cases antibiotic therapy is instituted prior to surgical intervention.
The use of growth factors in Autologous Platelet Concentrate (APC+) as well as various substrate materials will be reviewed.
A protocol for surgical intervention.
A series of cases will then be presented to demonstrate the above concepts.
References
Babbush CA: Dental Implants: The Art and Science. Philadelphia, PA, Saunders, 2001
Sclar AG: Soft Tissue and Esthetic Considerations in Implant Dentistry. Chicago, IL, Quintessence Publishing Co, 2003
Babbush CA, Kevy SV, Jacobson MS: An in vitro and in vivo evaluation of autologous platelet concentrate in oral reconstruction. Implant Dent 12:24, 2003
Publishing and Reprint Information
Lyndhurst, OH, USA
Copyright ий 2004 by Elsevier Inc.
doi: 10.1016/j.joms.2004.05.079