Placement of implants immediately after tooth extraction is an accepted protocol, but it is a matter of debate whether implants should be immediately placed after removal of a tooth with periapical pathology. A prospective study by Lindeboom, et al assessed 50 implants placed in chronic periapical infected sites in 50 patients; 25 implants were placed immediately after tooth extraction, and 25 implants were placed after a 3-month healing period. Thirty-two implants were placed in the anterior maxilla and 18 were placed in the premolar region. The study evaluated implant survival, mean Implant Stability Quotient (ISQ), gingival aesthetics, radiographic bone loss, and microbiologic characteristics of periapical lesions for both groups. The study found that 2 of the immediately placed implants were lost (92% survival rate) versus no implants lost in the delayed placement group. Mean ISQ, gingival aesthetics, radiographic bone resorption, and periapical cultures were not significantly different between the groups. The study concluded that within the limits of the study, immediate placement of single-tooth implants in extraction sites with periapical lesions was a predictable treatment.
Source: Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, Vol. 101, No. 6, June 2006)
