The Link Between Periodontitis/Peri-implantitis and Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Literature Review.

A link between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease has been reported in the literature. For this systematic review, the keywords "cardiovascular disease" (CVD) were combined with "periodontitis" and "peri-implantitis" and were used to search for literature published on MEDLINE and PubMed between 1990 and 2020. Hand searching was also performed. A total of 206 articles were identified, 51 of which were reviewed. A link between periodontal disease and CVD can be explained by both the infection and inflammatory pathways. Interventional studies on the treatment of periodontal disease related to CVD have shown conflicting results. Therefore, based on published studies, CVD should presently be considered a comorbidity of periodontitis (with an association but no direct cause and effect documented). The association of CVD with peri-implantitis has too few studies to draw any conclusions. More studies are necessary before any conclusions can be made between CVD and periodontitis and CVD and peri-implantitis regarding possible links and the extent of association.

A Novel Surgical Aid to Achieve Optimal Positioning of Adjacent Implants in Fully Edentulous Mandibular Cases.

The 3-dimensional implant position is critical in achieving a successful surgical and prosthetic outcome for an implant-supported restoration. In an edentulous mandibular arch, the lack of neighboring reference points and the nature of the resorptive process make ideal surgical implant placement difficult to achieve. As the edentulous mandibular ridge resorbs lingually and apically, the ideal prosthetic tooth positions often may be located facial to the ridge crest. Achieving proper implant position requires use of a guide that takes into consideration the location of the existing ridge in addition to ideal tooth position. This article describes the use of an adaptable, metal, linked implant position guide that utilizes interimplant spacing of 5 mm, 7 mm, or 9 mm between adjacent tooth positions throughout the arch to aid in keeping adjacent implants parallel and symmetrical to the contralateral side while also respecting the ideal natural tooth dimensions and occlusion. The use of the guide is demonstrated in three cases of mandibular edentulism.