Dental implants are currently the most consistent and successful treatment for the rehabilitation of edentate individuals. Overall, high success rates of implant-supported rehabilitation have been reported in the literature;^1,2 however, regrettably, early and late implant failures and peri-implant complications are still challenges in clinical practice.

Therefore, there is interest in identifying the risk factors related to implant losses and other complications, including lifestyles and systemic diseases. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem worldwide that is growing in prevalence and is associated with severe complications. It was estimated that, in 2017, approximately 450 million adults were affected with DM globally and this prevalence is expected to increase to 693 million by 2045.³ Although most clinicians feel that diabetic subjects may experience more problems around dental implants than systemically-healthy subjects, the actual impact of DM on implant survival and complication rates remains controversial. Most studies in animals have demonstrated that DM adversely affects bone healing around implants.^4,5,6

Some clinical studies have reported minor or no associations of DM with implant failures,^7,8 while others have showed higher losses of dental implants and peri-implant diseases in diabetics than in non-diabetic subjects.^9,10,11