Does obesity increase likelihood of peri-implantitis?

An obesity measure could be predictive of peri-implantitis risk.

In a retrospective study published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, investigators examined the medical and dental records of more than 300 patients who received over 1,100 dental implants at a single medical center in Philadelphia between 2006 and 2019 — with the goal of determining the relationship between body mass index within three months of implant placement and incidence of peri-implantitis, defined as radiographic crestal bone loss and clinical bleeding on probing with or without suppuration.

After a median follow-up of 67 months, the investigators noted that about 25%, or 80, of the implants developed peri-implantitis. However, the rates of peri-implantitis were significantly higher — 34% versus 23% — among those with a BMI of 30 kilograms per square meter or higher, suggesting that BMI may be an independent risk factor. Previous studies have found that adipose tissue may produce pro-inflammatory cytokines that affect wound healing and immune response and have linked obesity with chronic health issues such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a news article from Oral Health reporting on the study.

The investigators hope their findings can help better identify high-risk patients and improve dental implant outcomes. They emphasized the need for enhanced obesity and metabolic screening methods to increase the long-term success rate of dental implants, especially as rates of obesity rise across the world.