RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY IMPLANT FAILURE.

Objective: To assess the possible risk factors that contribute to early dental implant failures in a teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study evaluated past records of the 24 patients treated with 53 dental implants and were divided into two groups, one with failed dental implants before occlusal loading and the other with successful implants. Variables such as Age, gender, location of implants (maxilla or mandible), type of implant healing (single or double stage) and timing of implant placement (fresh extraction sockets or healed sites) were assessed. Results: About 4 (7.5%) out of 53 dental implants failed to osseointegrate before the prosthetic phase. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant p= 0.032 regarding the healing of dental implant (single or double stage), however, it was not significant in terms of age, gender, site and timing of implant p>0.05. Conclusion: Single stage implant surgery may be an important risk factor for early Implant failure however, more studies with larger sample size should be done to investigate risk factors that contribute to early failures.