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OBJECTIVE The past few years have seen a progressive increment in the number of osteomyelitis cases associated with dental implants, raising the interest of a possible role of implant therapy in the development of osteomyelitis. The aim of the present study was to systematically review the association between dental implant therapy and occurrence of osteomyelitis. DATA SOURCES The focused question addressed was "What is the risk to develop osteomyelitis among patients receiving dental implants?" Indexed databases were searched without language restrictions up to January 2017 using various key words including: "osteomyelitis"; "dental implants"; "osseointegration"; and "risk factors." RESULTS Fourteen studies reporting cases of 39 patients who developed osteomyelitis after dental implant placement were identified. Among the 39 patients, 66.6% were women and 28.2% were men. The overall mean age was 60.26 years. Thirty-six patients had osteomyelitis of the mandible; 2 cases were reported in the maxilla, whereas, 1 case reported vertebral osteomyelitis associated with implant therapy. CONCLUSION The knowledge of the real impact of osteomyelitis on the outcome of implant therapy and the identification of risk factors associated with this infectious and life-threatening condition are essential for the development of prevention protocols and treatment strategies.

The objective of this study was to compare morphological characteristics of osteotomies performed by 6 Piezosurgical devices.The 6 Piezosurgical units were: (a) Piezotom, (b) SurgySonic, (c) Piezon Master Surgery, (d) VarioSurg, (e) Surgybone, and (f) Piezosurgery 3. Osteotomies on 9 freshly slaughtered cattle ribs (2 cuts by each unit, per rib) from the cortical (first cut at 5 mm) to the cancellous (second cut at 3 mm) bone layer were performed. The osteotomy margins were compared using scanning electron microscopy analysis. The cutting areas, osteotomy bottoms, and osteotomy margins were analyzed morphologically. Statistical evaluation of the 2 cuts regarding the design of the tips (a-d: tapered tool shanks, f: parallel tool shank) was performed by an unpaired t test.Morphological characteristics were different for each Piezosurgical unit and each examined area. A significant difference (P = 0.0209) of the upper width of the first cut between tapered and parallel tips was shown.The morphological characteristics of the produced Piezosurgical osteotomies vary and depend on the Piezosurgical unit and tip.

BACKGROUND Oral rehabilitation of edentulous patients with implants that are immediately loaded is a viable treatment alternative today; however, the immediate loading protocol has not been extensively documented in HIV-seropositive patients. METHODS This clinical case report presents a surgical and prosthetic implant-supported immediate loading protocol in an edentulous HIV-seropositive patient (CD4 >200 and T4/T8: 0.99). Eight implants were placed in each jaw, and no ridge augmentation procedures were required. All the implants were connected with abutments, and a temporary fixed restoration was placed immediately after surgery. The final fixed reconstruction was cemented after 10 weeks of loading. RESULTS All implants showed no clinical signs of mobility or infection. Periotest values were evaluated during healing and showed a progressive reduction. Radiological findings showed stable bone levels after an observation period of 4 years. CONCLUSIONS This case report presents an alternative treatment for the oral rehabilitation of an HIV-positive (but disease asymptomatic) edentulous patient. The concept of immediate loading of implants offers advantages when compared with a traditional treatment modality even in immunocompromised patients who are well controlled.

The mandibular incisive canal (MIC) is the anterior extension of the mandibular canal and its presence is of interest in surgical procedures in the chin region. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of a MIC in panoramic radiographs (OPGs).One thousand forty-five OPGs were randomly chosen from patient population. The data collected included patient characteristics and MIC presence/absence according to the type of the dentition. Measurements (in mm) were performed evaluating the following: (A) minimum and (B) maximum distance from the alveolar ridge; (C) thickness and (D) length of the canal; and (E) distance (in bilateral cases) between the canals.The MIC was found in 2.7% of the patients.This study demonstrates the frequency of the MIC in OPGs and suggests that this anatomical structure should be considered to prevent injury during surgery.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the temperature gradient (ΔT) generated by laser irradiation of an implant surface using a carbon dioxide (CO(2)) and an Erbium:yttrium aluminium garnet (Er:YAG) laser. Materials and methods A dental implant was irradiated with a CO(2) and an Er:YAG lasers, with variable power settings. Temperature increase was measured in 2 locations of the implant surface: in the cervical area (ΔT(c)) and in the apical area (ΔT(a)). Results The CO(2) laser showed the following results: after 60 seconds of irradiation with continuous mode, ΔT(c) was 13.9°C and ΔTa was 12.5°C. The Er:YAG laser showed the following results: after 60 seconds of irradiation with continuous mode, the temperature rise ΔT(c) was 50.6°C and ΔT(a) was 38.6°C. The CO(2) laser with continuous mode generated a temperature increase of 10°C after only 36 seconds. The Er:YAG laser with continuous mode produced a more rapid temperature increase and took only 10 seconds to reach the critical threshold. Conclusions The irradiation of implant surfaces with CO(2) and Er:YAG lasers may produce a temperature increase above the critical threshold (10°C) after 10 seconds of continuous irradiation.

Although platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been extensively studied for over a decade, there are no definitive reports, which prove the benefit of using PRP in sinus augmentation procedures. In addition, no systematic literature review has been done to report the benefit of treatment outcome in patients who received PRP in conjunction with bone/bone substitutes in maxillary sinus augmentation procedures. Therefore, it can be rightly stated that evidence for an adjunctive benefit of using PRP with bone grafts in sinus augmentation procedures is equivocal and inconclusive.: The objective of this systematic literature review was to examine this literature in determining whether PRP with bone and bone substitutes leads to more rapid and effective bone regeneration clinically, radiographically, and histologically with sinus augmentation procedures and was there any clinical data parallel to animal experiments providing clinical evidence in sinus augmentation procedures?A systematic review of randomized clinical trials of at least 6 months duration was conducted comparing PRP and bone/bone substitutes (test group) to bone/bone substitutes (control group) alone. Electronic databases such as MEDLINE and CENTRAL (Cochrane central register of controlled clinical trials) were searched for relevant articles. The reference list of all included articles was searched along with unpublished clinical trials whose abstracts were available.Although, there is a lack of human studies, which show benefit of using PRP in conjunction with bone grafting materials, it can be stated that use of PRP does lead to early regeneration and reduction in healing time of soft and hard tissues. However, no significant statistical or clinical benefit was reported from studies that would satisfy the inclusion criteria. This study answers the question very clearly that at this point of time, there is no human study that strongly supports the benefit of using PRP in sinus augmentation procedures.There is a paucity of clinically controlled trials regarding benefits of PRP in sinus augmentation procedures. Theoretically, it seems to have significant beneficial effects on the soft and hard tissue healing; however, the disparity in study design, surgical techniques, and different outcome assessment variables used, makes it difficult to assess the practical benefit of its clinical use. Although no obvious positive effects of PRP on healing of bone graft material in maxillary sinus augmentation procedures were noted, the handling of the particulate bone grafts was improved.

Immediate loading of oral implants has been extensively described in the international literature and the requirements for long-term success are evaluated. The author presents here the critical aspects of the criteria for success as well as describes the characteristics of an implant macro- and microdesign for immediate loading to control the periimplant crestal bone loss and secure the long-term stability. Information from the literature and the clinical experience will be presented.