The contribution of dental implants to functional artificial restoration after treatment of oral cancer

Background/Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate dental implants with regard to artificial restoration of oral function and quality of life in patients with oral cancer. Patients and Methods: We examined 134 implants in 41 patients who had undergone jawbone resection as treatment for oral cancer. The patients were aged 44-89 (mean=61.5) years, and the male to female ratio was 27:14. Results: The 5-year implant success rate was 91.0%. Of the 12 unsuccessful implants, four were embedded on bone grafts with skin flaps, four were embedded on skin flaps using muscle, and four were embedded after peripheral resection. Of the 41 patients, 11 received radiation, but exposure to radiation was not associated with implant loss. The level of satisfaction on the visual analog scale before development of oral cancer was set at 100 mm. Satisfaction fell to 47.0 mm after primary treatment, but recovered to 82.6 mm after implant therapy. Conclusion: Patient satisfaction after implant therapy was high, and the implants resulted in improved quality of life. A high proportion of cases involving use of skin flaps resulted in implant loss. Constructing an immobile mucous membrane by replacement of a skin flap with a skin graft may facilitate selfmaintenance of implants.