Bisphosphonate releasing dental implant surface coatings and osseointegration: A systematic review

Objectives Bisphosphonates (BPs) are a class of drugs that are used to treat osteoporosis. It has been suggested that BP coatings on dental implants have a positive effect on new bone formation. The purpose of this review is to analyse the currently available data concerning the clinical and experimental efficacy of BP-releasing titanium implants such that their potential in clinical oral implant dentistry may be ascertained. Methods Based on a literature review, a focused research question was constructed: what is the effect of a BP-releasing coating on the osseointegration of titanium dental implant? The databases of PubMED/MEDLINE; ISI Web of Knowledge; Embase and Google Scholar were searched electronically using the keywords ‘dental implant’; ‘bisphosphonate’ and ‘titanium.’ The quality; general characteristics and outcomes of each study were summarized and analysed systematically. Results A total of eleven articles fulfilled the criteria to be included in this review. Eight studies were experimental; two studies were clinical; and one study was experimental and clinical. In nine studies (82%), BP-coated implants resulted in higher osseointegration, as indicated by higher resonance frequency values, removal torque, bone-implant contact and new bone formation. In two studies (18%), there was no difference between the osseointegration of BP-coated implants and controls. Conclusions Bisphosphonates-loaded implants may have a positive effect on osseointegration. However, more well-designed clinical studies are required to demonstrate their osseoconductive effects.