Peri-Implantitis: A Risk Factor In Implant Failure

Peri-implantitis is a site specific infectious disease that causes an inflammatory process in soft tissues, and bone loss around an osseointegrated implant in function. Implant failure has classically been attributed to bacterial infections, occlusal overload, surgical trauma, faulty or incorrect prosthetic design and/or improper surgical placement. The management of implant infection should be focused both on the infection control of the lesion, the detoxification of the implant surface and regeneration procedures. The treatment option can be surgical or non-surgical. It was observed that the non surgical treatment of peri-implantitis was unpredictable, while the use of chemical agents such as chlorhexidine had only limited clinical effects. Adjunctive local or systemic antibiotics were shown to reduce bleeding on probing and probing depths and some beneficial effects of laser therapy on peri-implantitis have been shown. Regenerative therapies can also be applied in conjunction with the anti-infective procedures. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature with regards to peri-implantitis as a risk factor in implant failure and also to identify the protocols which may assist in its diagnosis and management.