Antibiotics Increase Implant Survival Rate

Objective: To assess the effect of preoperative oral antibiotics on postoperative morbidity, pain, and successful integration. Methods: Fifty-five patients scheduled for implant surgery were randomly assigned to receive an antibiotic or a placebo. Postoperative morbidity and osseointegration were assessed. Results/Conclusions: Preoperative antibiotics resulted in higher dental implant survival rates. Longer duration of surgery resulted in more dental implants failures and pain as did the number of implants placed at one time. Preoperative antibiotics also seemed to decrease postoperative pain scores. Longer incision lengths correlated with slightly higher pain scores and interference with activities of daily living. It did not appear to make a difference whether one-stage or two-stage surgery was performed when evaluating implant survival. The choice of antibiotics was amoxicillin, though consensus on preoperative antibiotic choice has not been reached, and this is discussed here and more...