SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Oral Health
Sec. Oral Health Promotion
This article is part of the Research TopicCurrent Trends in Oral Surgery and ImplantologyView all 5 articles
DENTAL IMPLANT FAILURE AND RETRIEVAL TECHNIQUES; A SCOPING REVIEW
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Prosthodontics, A J Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangaluru, India
- 2Department of Prosthodontics, MAHE,Manipal,Karnataka 576104, Manipal College of Dental Sciences Mangalore, Mangalore, India
- 3Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, MAHE,Manipal,Karnataka 576104, Manipal College of Dental Sciences Mangalore, Mangalore, India
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Background : Dental implants are widely used, yet failures occur and literature on their etiology and retrieval is discrete. A consolidated map of evidence from the past decade can provide valuable guidance to clinicians and researchers. Objectives :To (1) chart biological, mechanical and patient-related factors associated with implant failure (2) catalogue techniques described for implant retrieval. (3) To illustrate publication trends in the field . Methods : Scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Search strategies based on relevant keywords and MeSH terms were performed across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published from 1983 to June 2025. Two investigators (V. S. and S.R.) independently performed screening of literature in three databases. Clinical studies , case reports , reviews and guidelines discussing dental implant failure classification, risk factors, and explantation techniques were included in the study. 388 records were included (human studies reporting on failed endosseous dental implants or explantation techniques). Results : All studies included were published between 1983 and 2025, in English language. Analysis of included literature demonstrated a progressive rise in publications from 1983 to 2025 reflecting growing clinical and research interest. Observational designs predominated (68 %), followed by narrative reviews (20 %) and systematic reviews/meta-analyses (8 %). Early failures were predominantly linked to smoking, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, poor bone quality, periodontitis, radiotherapy, titanium hypersensitivity, and surgical errors. Late failures were associated with biomechanical overload, peri-implantitis, malpositioning, and systemic medication effects Commonly reported causes of failure included peri-implantitis (≈ 150 studies), systemic conditions such as diabetes and osteoporosis (≈ 60), medication exposure (e.g., bisphosphonates, SSRIs; 24), and mechanical or prosthetic factors (≈ 40). Fourteen studies described implant retrieval techniques: trephine burs (7), reverse-torque devices (3), ultrasonic/piezoelectric methods (2), laser-assisted removal (1), and electrosurgery-induced thermoexplantation (1). Success rates for atraumatic retrieval ranged from 70 % to 100 %. Conclusions : Dental implant failure remains a complex and multifactorial challenge. Peri-implant disease, systemic health factors, and mechanical overload are most frequently implicated causes of implant failure. rephines are the most commonly reported retrieval method, but newer minimally invasive techniques are gaining interest. Further prospective studies are recommended.
Keywords: Dental Implants, Implant failure, Implant retrieval, Explantation techniques, Peri-Implantitis, Trephine bur, Scoping review, dental implant
Received: 17 Jul 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shenoy, Rodrigues, Mukherjee and Ramanathan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shobha Rodrigues, shobha.j@manipal.edu
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