Commonly Used Anti-depressionMedications and Dental Implant Failures!

In the September 2014 issue of the Journal of Dental Research (JDR) a group of researchers found that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Implant with abutment and crownSSRI’s) the most common form of anti-depression medication, were associated with higher rates of dental implant failure!   This was attributed to a reported decrease in bone formation and an increase in bone fractures in the same group of patients.

In the time period between 2007 and 2013 close to 1000 dental implants were followed closely and in patients that were taking SSRIs the rate of implant failure was twice as much at 10.6%, versus the non-SSRI group at 4.6%.  Additionally in this retrospective study it was found that smaller diameter implants of less than 4 mm and smoking were also associated with a higher risk of implant failure.

This is a very interesting finding and warrants further research into the relationship between the medications that we take in a regular basis and its impact surgical outcomes, such as dental implant placement.