Effects of Antibiotics on Bone and Soft-Tissue Healing Following Immediate Single-Tooth Implant Placement Into Sites With Apical Pathology

Overprescription of antibiotics can cause bacterial resistance problems, leading to life-threatening illnesses and public health crises. Clinicians often believe antibiotics can prevent dental implant failure and postoperative complications. In conjunction with implant surgery, antibiotics are therefore routinely prescribed for all cases. In this double-blind, randomized controlled trial, the effects of antibiotics on the clinical outcomes of immediate implant placement upon replacing a tooth with an apical pathology were examined to compare antibiotics (n = 10) and placebo (n = 10). In each subject, a tooth with a chronic apical lesion was extracted, thoroughly curetted, irrigated, and replaced with single implant with a screw-retained custom provisional abutment/crown. Postoperative pain/discomfort was measured at 1-and 4-week postsurgical follow-up visits using visual analog scales. Facial alveolar bone and soft-tissue changes were measured using pre-and postoperative cone-beam computerized tomography and impressions. We found survival rates of 100% (antibiotics) and 78% (control). However, there was no statistical difference in means for any clinical outcome (t tests with Bonferroni adjustment for multiple testing), except for midfacial soft-tissue changes: 0.43 mm (SD, 0.76) in the antibiotics group and 1.70 mm (SD, 1.06) in the placebo group (t(15) = -2.89, P =.011). The average change of the midfacial alveolar plate was 0.62 mm (SD, 0.46) and 1.34 mm (SD, 0.91) for the antibiotic and placebo groups, respectively, which did not significantly differ statistically. No significant correlation (Spearman correlation) existed between the changes in facial alveolar bone and the facial gingival margin. Antibiotics appear to have little effect on immediate implant treatment outcomes.