An inflammatory process

Peri-implant mucositis is defined as inflammation of the mucosal cuff around the neck of a dental implant and is associated with oedema, rubor and bleeding on probing. Peri-implantitis is typically considered to be a more advanced disease, associated with purulence and marginal bone loss around the implant. The prevalence of peri-implantitis varies according to the source of the study and this is due in no small part to the variation in definition and the methodology of how the disease is measured. As such data varies from as little as 10 per cent to over 40 per cent in some studies. It has been proposed as being 29 per cent in patients whose implants are placed within a partial dentition, and who may have a prior history of periodontal disease. Bacteria found in peri-implant defects are similar to those found in deeper periodontal pockets; the implication being that cross infection is a risk. However, even implants placed into edentate jaws have revealed a significant colonisation of periodontal pathogens, if somewhat less than in the partially dentate dentition.