Abstract
Objective : In the author's facility, an oral care center was established in April 2012 to provide perioperative oral management services. An important duty of dentists is to ensure the absence of any source of infection in the oral cavity before the initiation of treatment, such as oncological therapies. This paper reports the results of a study on the current status of our inpatients with a history of implant therapy.
Methods : Among the 1,299 patients who visited the center within the 2-year period between April 2012 and March 2014 for perioperative oral management, those with a history of implant therapy were examined, focusing on the following items : 1)sex and age, 2)status of implant therapy, and use of periodic maintenance services, 3)disease scheduled to be treated, and scheduled chemotherapy or craniocervical radiotherapy, and 4)examination results and course after implant therapy.
Results : The numbers of males and females were 14 and 10, respectively, with a median age of 70.5, ranging from 56 to 85. The number of implants was 1 to 9, with a median of 3. Only half of the patients used maintenance services. Malignant tumor was present in 21 cases, accounting for 80% of diseases scheduled to be treated. Chemo- and craniocervical therapies were required in 10 and 2 cases, respectively. The course was favorable in 14 and poor in 10 ; 2 of the latter needed implant removal.
Conclusion : Systemic diseases may develop even in patients who have undergone implant therapy, occasionally involving serious side effects, depending on their conditions. Although clear standards do not exist, it may be necessary to consider systemic conditions when examining the appropriateness of implant removal. Perioperative oral management may play an important role in the management of patients not using periodic maintenance services after implant therapy.
