Oral rehabilitation of Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome patients by dental implants: a systematic review

Objectives: Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome (PLS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder. These patients lose their teeth at a young age and are in need of prosthetic rehabilitation. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the success of dental implant placement in these patients. Materials and Methods: An electronic search was performed in PubMed Central, Scopus, and Web of Science using the keyword “Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome” AND “dental implant” OR “prosthodontics”. Articles reporting implant placement in patients with PLS until July 2019 were included. Results: Assessment of the included 11 articles reporting 15 cases showed 136 implant placements in these patients. Implant failure occurred in 3 patients (20 implants). The peri-implantitis and failure rate was higher in the maxilla. Meta-analysis showed the probability of failure to be 7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0%-31%) for maxillary implants and 2% (95% CI 0%-9%) for mandibular implants. The follow-up time ranged between 1 and 20 years. Healing after bone graft and implant placement in these patients was uneventful. Conclusion: Dental implants may be a viable treatment option for PLS patients. Implantation can help preserve alveolar bone if the patients’ immunological and growing conditions are well-considered and proper oral hygiene and compliance with the maintenance program are continued.