A review of the failed cases of dental implants at a university hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

The retrospective study was conducted to assess the dental implants that experienced failure. It was conducted at the dental clinic of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised record of dental implants from July 2010 to June 2015. Variables such as patient age, gender and systemic status, length and diameter of implants, bone grafting, type of definitive prosthesis (crown or bridge or overdenture), nature of retention (cement versus screw retained), loading strategy (immediate versus delayed loading), etc. were analysed. Of the 220 implants placed, 6(2.7%) failed to integrate (as revealed by torque test) at the beginning of prosthetic phase. Besides, 1(0.5%) implant failed after six months of function. The 7(3.2%) failed cases had common variables like deficient bone volume in maxilla (or placement of bone graft), non-submerged placement protocol, early loading with prosthesis and the presence of diabetes.