Purpose: Replacement of lost teeth has significant functional and psychosocial effects. The capability of osseointegrated dental implants to transmit a certain amount of sensibility is still unclear. The phenomenon of developing a certain amount of tactile sensibility through osseointegrated dental implants is called osseoperception. The aim of this article is to evaluate the available literature to find osseoperception associated with dental implants.
Materials and methods: To identify suitable literature, an electronic search was performed using Medline and PubMed database. Articles published in English and articles whose abstract is available in English were included. The articles included in the review were based on osseoperception, tactile sensation, and neurophysiological mechanoreceptors in relation to dental implants. Articles on peri-implantitis and infection-related sensitivity were not included. Review articles without the original data were excluded, although references to potentially pertinent articles were noted for further follow-up. The phenomenon of osseoperception remains a matter of debate, so the search strategy mainly focused on articles on osseoperception and tactile sensibility of dental implants. This review presents the histological, neurophysiological, and psychophysical evidence of osseoperception and also the role of mechanoreceptors in osseoperception.
Results: The literature on osseoperception in dental implants is very scarce. The initial literature search resulted in 90 articles, of which 81 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this systematic review.
Conclusion: Patients restored with implant-supported prostheses reported improved tactile and motor function when compared with patients wearing complete dentures.
Keywords: Dental implants; osseointegration; osseoperception.
© 2016 by the American College of Prosthodontists.