The relationship between ABO blood types and survival of dental implants

Bacteria colonization is the main cause of periodontal diseases and may be effected by ABO blood types. Since implant survival is severely reduced by peri-implant disease, this study aimed to evaluate the marginal bone resorption levels and survival rates of implants which were followed for 1-8 years and analyze these values with respect to demographic data and blood types. Patients who had undergone implant treatment and had prosthetic rehabilitation at the School of Dentistry in Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey, between March 2010 and March 2017 were studied in this cross-sectional retrospective study. In this study, 272 individuals were included, and a total of 963 implants were evaluated. Individuals who had implant treatment were called for control visits and clinical and radiological examinations. The effects of blood types were evaluated in terms of implant survival, failing implant, post-operative complications, and mesial-distal marginal bone resorption. Statistical analysis was performed using NCSS 2007 software. The Kruskal-Wallis test, Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Fisher-Freeman-Halton exact test were used for statistical analysis. Statistical significance level was considered at P < 0.05. The mean age of the participants was 49.49 ± 11.92 years. The blood types of the participants were O (52.2%), A (30.5%), B (11.1%), and AB (6.3%). The implant survival rate was found to be 98.3%. There was no significant difference between blood types in terms of gender and age (P > 0.05). On the other hand, mesial-distal bone resorption was higher in patients with O blood type older than 50 years (P < 0.05). The fact that 52.2% of the patients with implants had O blood type, which is higher than the Turkish general population, may suggest that individuals with O blood type are more prone to tooth loss. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that assessed the impact of blood type on the success of dental implants.