Antibiotic prophylaxis at dental implant placement: Which is the best protocol? A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

AIM: This systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) aims to answer to the following question: "In patients undergoing dental implant placement, which is the best antibiotic prophylaxis protocol to prevent early failures?" MATERIALS AND METHODS: The MEDLINE, SCOPUS, CENTRAL and Web of Knowledge electronic databases were searched in duplicate for RCTs up to July 2017. Additional relevant literature was identified through (i) handsearching on both relevant journals and reference lists, and (ii) searching in databases for grey literature. A network meta-analysis (NMA) was conducted, and the probability that each protocol is the "Best" was estimated. RESULTS: Nine RCTs were included, with a total of 1,693 participants. Due to the few events reported, it was not possible to conduct a NMA for adverse events, therefore it was conducted only for implant failures (IF). The protocol with the highest probability (32.5%) of being the "Best" one to prevent IF was the single dose of 3 g of amoxicillin administered 1 hr pre-operatively. Even if the single pre-operative dose of 2 g of amoxicillin is the most used, it achieved only a probability of 0.2% to be the "Best" one. CONCLUSIONS: Basing on the available RCTs, the use of antibiotic prophylaxis is protective against early implant failures. Whenever an antibiotic prophylaxis is needed, there is still insufficient evidence to confidently recommend a specific dosage. The use of post-operative courses does not seem however to be justified by the available literature. Prospero registration number: CRD42015029708.

Coronectomy: A Surgical Option for Impacted Third Molars in Close Proximity to the Inferior Alveolar Nerve-A 5-Year Follow-Up Study.

PURPOSE: The extraction of third molars is the most common surgical procedure performed in the oral cavity. Coronectomy is a surgical protocol to reduce the risk of neurologic lesions to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). We evaluated early (up to 1 month) and late (from 2 to 60 months) postoperative complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective cohort study enrolled patients treated at the Unit of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Bologna. The predictor variable was the time after coronectomy with up to 5 years' follow-up. To assess the rate of postoperative complications, the outcome variables were neurologic injuries, postoperative pain, swelling, fever, alveolitis, pulpitis, and root exposure. The success rate, need for a second surgical procedure, probing pocket depth, and bleeding on probing also were investigated. Univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox hazards modeling were performed to evaluate the variables. RESULTS: We performed 116 coronectomies in 94 healthy patients (37 men and 57 women; mean age, 28.99 ± 8.9 years). At 5 years' follow-up, we re-evaluated 63 patients with 76 coronectomies. In total, 30 complications were verified. No cases of neurologic lesions to the IAN or lingual nerve were observed after surgery. In the first 3 years, the surgeons extracted migrated roots in 5 cases (6%) without any neurologic lesions to the IAN. No complications were observed from the third to fifth year. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study on coronectomy of third molars in a close relationship with the mandibular canal found no cases of neurologic lesions, no cases of late infection of the retained roots at 5 years, and a low rate of immediate postoperative complications. Further investigations should include a follow-up study at 10 years and more research about the mechanism of pulp healing.