Conventional radiography and cross-sectional imaging when planning dental implants in the anterior edentulous mandible to support an overdenture: a systematic review.

The objectives for this systematic review were to determine if the pre-operative availability of cross-sectional imaging, such as cone beam CT, has a diagnostic impact, therapeutic impact or impact on patients' outcome when placing two dental implants in the anterior mandible to support an overdenture. The Cochrane Oral Health Group's Trials Register (CENTRAL), MEDLINE® and Embase were searched up to, and including, February 2013. Studies were considered eligible for inclusion if they compared the impact of conventional and cross-sectional imaging when placing dental implants in sites including the anterior mandible. An adapted quality assessment tool was used for the assessment of the risk of bias in included studies. Pooled quantitative analysis was not possible and, therefore, synthesis was qualitative. Of 2374 potentially eligible papers, 5 studies were included. Little can be determined from a synthesis of these studies because of their small number, clinical diversity and high risks of bias. Notwithstanding, it may be tentatively inferred that cross-sectional imaging has a therapeutic impact in the more challenging cases. In terms of impact, this review has found no evidence to support any specific imaging modality when planning dental implant placement in any region of the mouth. Therefore, those who argue that cross-sectional imaging should be used for the assessment of all dental implant sites are unsupported by evidence.