DENTAL IMPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS: RISK FACTORS, COMPLICATIONS, AND EVIDENCE-BASED CLINICAL MANAGEMENT

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common chronic metabolic diseases encountered in dental practice, and its influence on wound healing, bone metabolism, immune defence, and infection control is directly relevant to implant dentistry. Contemporary evidence indicates that dental implant treatment can be safe and predictable in patients with well-controlled diabetes, whereas poor glycaemic control is associated with delayed osseointegration, greater marginal bone loss, peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis, and higher implant failure rates. This article reviews the principal risk factors for adverse outcomes, describes early and late complications, and summarises an evidence-based clinical pathway that includes medical assessment, optimisation of glycaemic control, rigorous periodontal and peri-implant maintenance, and coordinated physician-dentist management. Diabetes should therefore be regarded as a modifiable risk factor rather than an absolute contraindication to implant therapy.