Implants in the pterygoid region: a systematic review of the literature

This systematic review aimed to identify clinical studies on the short-term and long-term survival of implants placed in the pterygoid region. A structured literature search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane databases. Relevant studies were selected according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data from the final included studies could only be extracted for calculating interval survival rate (ISR) and cumulative survival rate (CSR) of implants for different time intervals. The initial database search yielded 693 titles. After filtering, 32 abstracts were selected culminating in 17 full text articles. Three additional articles were added through a hand search to obtain a total of 20 articles. Application of exclusion criteria led to elimination of 11 articles. Pooled data from the final 9 articles showed a first year ISR of 92%. The CSR over a 10 year period, largely due to data from one study was 91%. The minimum follow-up period reported in various studies was less than a year. There is insufficient data about failures that occurred beyond the first year interval, making it difficult to draw conclusions about long-term survival of these implants. More studies with longer follow-up periods involving adequate number of pterygoid implants are needed.