Survival of dental implants placed in HIV-positive patients: a systematic review

No consensus has been reached on the use of dental implants in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. This systematic review evaluated dental implants in HIV-positive patients in terms of implant survival and success rates, marginal bone loss, and complications. The review was conducted according to the PRISMA checklist. Two independent reviewers performed a comprehensive search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases for studies published until October 2017. Six studies were selected for review. In total, 821 implants were placed: 493 in 169 HIV-positive patients, and 328 in 135 HIV-negative patients. The mean duration of follow-up was 47.9 months. Weighted mean survival rate, success rate, and marginal bone loss values were calculated for the HIV-positive patients. Mean survival and success rates at the patient level (according to the number of patients) were 94.76% and 93.81%, respectively; when calculated at the implant level (according to the number of implants), these rates were 94.53% and 90.37%, respectively. Mean marginal bone loss was 0.83 mm at the patient level and 0.99 mm at the implant level. Thus, dental implants are suitable for the rehabilitation of HIV-positive patients with controlled risk factors and normal CD4+ cell counts.