Marginal bone loss around dental implants: comparison between matched groups of bruxer and non‐bruxer patients: A retrospective case–control study

PURPOSE: To compare marginal bone loss (MBL) around dental implants in a group of bruxers in relation to a matched group of non‐bruxers. METHODS: The present record‐based retrospective study included patients selected from individuals treated with dental implants at one specialist clinic in Malmö. Only implants not lost and with baseline radiographs taken within 12 months after implant placement and with a minimum of 36 months of radiological follow‐up were considered for inclusion. Univariate linear regression models and a linear mixed‐effects model were performed. RESULTS: Two hundred and four patients (104 bruxers, 100 non‐bruxers), with a total of 811 implants (416 in bruxers, 395 in non‐bruxers) were included in the study. The results of the linear mixed‐effects model suggested that bruxism, smoking, age, region of the jaws, implant diameter, and prosthesis type had a statistically significant influence on MBL over time. Individuals who are both bruxers and smokers showed greater MBL when compared to individuals who are either a bruxer or smoker, or neither (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Bruxism is suggested to increase the risk of MBL over time, as well as higher age, smoking, and the combination of bruxism and smoking. Other factors that showed a correlation with increased MBL were implant diameter, region of the jaws, and prosthesis type, but it is not possible to draw robust conclusions for these factors, as the categories of these variables were very unbalanced.