Survival, Success, and Neuropathic Alterations Related to Implant Placement Procedures in the Nasopalatine Canal: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The innervation of the hard and soft tissues of the anterior maxilla depends on the nasopalatine nerve. Due to its anatomy and proximity to implants in the esthetic area, it is essential to fully com-prehend its traits and possible effects while performing implant placement procedures. This review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of neurosensorial alteration and the survival and success rates of dental implants in a relationship with the nasopalatine canal. A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. The included articles had to be case series or studies conducted in patients undergoing implant pro-cedures in the incisive canal region or who had undergone dental procedures with incisive canal deflation or neurovascular lateralization. A quantitative synthesis was performed using a meta-anal-ysis software program. Fixed- or random-effects models were applied based on the heterogeneity among studies. Four studies were included, and neurosensorial alterations were present in three of them. The range of neurosensorial alteration prevalence varied from 0% to 60%. A weighted mean of 29% ± 13% of neurosensorial alterations was calculated from the meta-analysis, and mean sur-vival and success rates were both 100%. Implant placement in the nasopalatine area is associated with high survival and success rates, as it is a safe procedure, but clinicians should be aware that neurosensorial alterations may be present when placing implants in this area.