Effects of smoking on implant success in grafted maxillary sinuses.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Cigarette smoking has been identified as a significant risk factor for dental implant treatment. PURPOSE: This retrospective study evaluated the effect of smoking and the amount of cigarette consumption on the success rates of the implants placed in grafted maxillary sinuses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty patients (16 smokers and 44 nonsmokers) were evaluated for the effects of smoking on osseointegrated implants placed in 84 grafted maxillary sinuses that contained a total of 228 endosseous root-form implants. Seventy implants were placed in 26 maxillary sinuses in smokers, whereas 158 implants were placed in 58 sinuses in nonsmokers. The number of implant failures and the amount of cigarette consumption were recorded. RESULTS: Of the 228 implants, 205 (89.9%) remained in function, after a mean follow-up period of 41.6 months (2 to 60 months). There was a significantly higher cumulative implant success rate in nonsmokers (82.7%) than in smokers (65.3%) (P =.027). Overall cumulative implant success rate was 76%. There was no correlation between implant failures and the amount of cigarette consumption (P >.99). CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, cigarette smoking appeared to be detrimental to the success of osseointegrated implants in grafted maxillary sinuses regardless of the amount of cigarette consumption.