Prevalence of neuropathic pain and sensory alterations after dental implant placement in a university-based oral surgery department: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence and the clinical features of patients with neuropathic pain and sensory alterations after dental implant placement.

BACKGROUND

Literature is very scarce concerning the prevalence of neuropathic pain after dental implant placement.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was made in patients submitted to dental implant placement in the Dental Hospital of the University of Barcelona. A descriptive analysis of the data was made, and the 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for the prevalences.

RESULTS

The study sample was composed of 1156 subjects of whom, 1012 patients (3743 dental implants) met the study inclusion criteria. Four hundred and seventeen patients (41.2%) were male and 595 (58.8%) were female, with a mean age of 60.7 years (range 16-90 years). Three patients were diagnosed as having painful post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathy (PPTN), which corresponds to a prevalence of 0.3% (95% CI: 0%-0.6%). Additionally, 5 patients (0.5%; 95% CI: 0%-1.07%) presented trigeminal neuropathy without pain (TNWP). The combined prevalence of both disorders was 0.8% (95% CI: 0.02%-1.3%). All patients with PPTN and TNWP were 60 years old or older, with a total combined prevalence of 1.48% (95% CI: 0.46%-2.5%) in this age group. Additionally, the prevalence in this age group for women was 1.85% (95%CI: 0.38%-3.31%).

CONCLUSIONS

Neuropathic pain after dental implant placement is very infrequent (0.3%) in a University Oral Surgery department. However, the presence of trigeminal neuropathies can be slightly higher and can affect up to 0.5% of patients. Older female patients seem to be more prone to this rare and disabling complication.