Incidence of Osteoradionecrosis and Dental Implant Survival in Patients With Irradiated Head and Neck Malignancies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed dental implant survival and osteoradionecrosis (ORN) after implant placement in irradiated patients with head and neck malignancies.Fourteen observational studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria, and 11 were suitable for a quantitative assessment of implant survival.Overall, dental implants showed good survival in irradiated tissues, but there was a wide variation among studies.Survival tended to be higher in the mandible than in the maxilla, but the difference between anatomical sites was not statistically significant.ORN following implant placement was uncommon at both the patient and implant levels.These findings suggest that implant-supported rehabilitation can be a viable option for appropriately selected irradiated patients; however, the predominance of retrospective evidence and substantial between-study heterogeneity limit the certainty of the findings.Well-designed prospective studies with standardized reporting are needed to better define factors influencing implant survival and ORN risk.