A retrospective study of dental implants in diabetic patients

The efficacious placement of dental implants in diabetic patients remains controversial. Definitive guidelines with objective criteria, including the type of diabetes, age of onset, and level of long-term control, have not been determined. In addition, few relevant literature citations assess the survival rate of implants in diabetic patients. Therefore, it is the purpose of this study to assess the success and survival rates of dental implants in diabetic patients. In this retrospective analysis, 215 implants placed in 40 patients at 2 clinical centers were evaluated. Chart reviews and interviews provided medical and implant data. From the analysis, 31 failures occurred, for an overall success rate of 85.6%. Of these failures, 24 occurred within the first year of functional loading. The mean time of functional load was 4.05 +/- 2.6 years. When the success rate was analyzed by implant location, success rates for the maxilla and mandible were 85.5% and 85.7%, respectively. For the anterior and posterior regions, success rates were 83.5% and 85.6%, respectively. The lifetable analysis revealed a cumulative success rate of 85.7% after 6.5 years of function. Based on the data, the survival rate of dental implants in controlled diabetic patients is lower than that documented for the general population, but there is still a reasonable success rate. The increase in failure rate occurs during the first year following prosthetic loading.