Dental Implants

Dental Implants are an expensive but highly effective way to replace lost teeth and some facial bones with prosthetics. Titanium and some ceramics are able to osseointegrate into the jaw bone, provided the bone and gums are healthy. There is a 1%-6% chance of a failure of the implant to integrate into the jaw bone. Factors that can contribute to the chances of a failure of osseointegration include:
  • poor oral hygine
  • smoking
  • diabetes
  • long term steroid use
  • osteoporosis
  • irradiated bone
  • grinding of teeth
  • diseased gums
  • diseased bone
  • operator's skill
  • quality of implant
  • implant initial stability
Of all of these concerns, two have been addressed by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS.) Diseased jaw bone (refractory osteomyelitis) and delayed radiation injury to the jaw bone are both approved conditions for HBOT. It is highly recommended that an aggressive hyperbaric treatment plan (The Marx Protocol) be administered before and after dental implantation to assure better patient outcomes. A potential complication of dental implant surgery is the necrosis of the gum flap. Here again, HBOT could be of great benefit as the UHMS has approved HBOT for compromised grafts and flaps. 

A Swedish study (below) showed improvement in the osseointegration of dental implants in irradiated and non-irradiated bone. So even if there is no radiation injury or infection, dental implants have been shown to respond better to HBOT than without. 

Peri-implantitis is a post-implant loss of spongy bone in the jaw surrounding a dental implant due to uncontrolled infection and inflammation. It is believed to be caused by the same bacteria as periodontitis, a similar dental condition which has been shown to benefit from HBOT. 

Additional Resources