Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors as a risk factor for dental implant failure: A retrospective clinical study

Abstract

Introduction: The trend in recent decades in Europe and the United States points to an exponential increase in the consumption of antidepressant drugs and, in particular, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This retrospective study aims to investigate whether there is an association between SSRI intake and dental implant (DI) failure and, secondarily, the influence of other systemic and local factors.

Material and Methods: This cohort retrospective study is in concordance with the STROBE guidelines for observational studies. One-hundred seventy patients received 573 DIs between 2014 and 2020. Results: The reported DI failure rate was 6.11%. Of these, 18.31% failed in patients treated with SSRIs while 4.38% failed in healthy patients (p<0.001). Specifically, the use of these drugs was associated with a 4.53 times higher rate of DI failure, and, in the multivariate analysis, 3.70 times higher adjusted risk was found. A lower survival rate at 90 months follow-up was also observed in these patients compared to those not taking these drugs (84.30% vs. 96%; p=0.00014).

Conclusions: With the limitations of the present study, it can be affirmed that there is a relationship between the intake of SSRIs and DI failure, as well as a lower survival rate in these patients.