Dental implant patients are more likely to experience complications if they suffer from obstructive sleep apnoa (OSA).
OSA is a condition where breathing repeatedly starts and stops during sleep and has been linked to bruxism.
A new study now shows that there is a strong correlation between OSA and complications with dental implants.
OSA complications
The research studied 67 patients, of which 16 patients had experienced implant complications, 13 of which had OSA.
The complications included porcelain fracture, fracture of the screw/implant, loosening of the screw, and decementation, with one of these appearing 73 months after the implant was put in.
The study found that 81% of patients with OSA experienced complications with their dental implants.
‘Among dental practitioners, there has been increasing awareness of the reciprocal relationship between obstructive sleep apnoa (OSA) and dental diseases,’ the researchers said.
‘One new aspect of interest would be the occurrence of technical complication in fixed prosthodontics.’
The full text of the article, ‘Frequency of prosthetic complications related to implant-borne prosthesis in a sleep disorder unit,’ is available in the February issue of Journal of Oral Implantology.
