Bruxism and dental implants: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Background Overload from bruxism may affect survival of dental implants. Objectives To evaluate implant failure and marginal bone loss (MBL) in patients presenting with probable bruxism compared to non‐bruxers. The study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021238397). Methods An electronic search September 2022 in PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Science Direct was combined with a hand search. Two independent reviewers carried out abstract screening, full‐text assessment, quality assessment (National Institutes of Health tool) and data extraction. Only studies that provided information on self‐report and clinical examination needed for the diagnosis of at least ‘probable’ bruxism were included. A pairwise random‐effect meta‐analysis was carried out. Results In total 1338 studies were identified, and after screening and full‐text assessment 27 studies that presented data on 2105 implants in probable bruxers and 10 264 implants in non‐bruxers were included, with 138 and 352 implant failures in respective groups. the meta‐analysis showed that implants placed in probable bruxers had a higher risk of failure than in non‐bruxers ( OR 2.189; 95% CI 1.337, 3.583, p = .002). A meta‐regression showed that follow‐up time did not affect this OR . Eighteen studies provided general data on MBL but did not report results separated between bruxers and non‐bruxers. Therefore, an analysis of MBL was not possible. Conclusion The results of the present systematic review show that implants placed in probable bruxers present a significantly higher risk of failure than implants placed in non‐bruxers. This should be considered in treatment planning and management of implant patients.