Failure Rates of Implants in Irradiated Bone: A Meta-Analysis

Oral cancer is a relatively uncommon subset of cancer but is extremely devastating in its outcomes and often harshly limits patients quality of life. The treatments for oral cancer such as radical resective surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, which are imperative for patient survival, have numerous sequelae which often result in disabilities as debilitating as the cancer itself. These disabilities can include disfigurement, decreased ability to communicate, and decreased ability to chew causing nutritional concerns. Disabilities of this magnitude have a tremendous impact on the quality of life of these patients leading to social isolation. In many instances, these patients cannot return to employment resulting in lost income and an increased burden on public assistance programs. Maxillofacial and dental prosthetics can ameliorate these disabilities to some degree; but resective surgery and radiation negatively impact the support for tissue borne prosthetic devices. Ossoeintegrated dental implants can provide additional support for dental prosthetic devices to potentially allow better functional results and prevent trauma on compromised tissues.