Dental implants and bone augmentation in HIV-infected patients under HAART: Case report and review of the literature.

The present study reviewed the literature regarding dental implants in HIV-infected patients and reports the long-term follow-up of three clinical cases of patients under HAART that received bone augmentation and dental implants. The first case presents a young patient with a large defect in the mandible, as a consequence of a longitudinal fracture, that was treated with guided bone regeneration (GBR) previously to implant placement. The second case reported is middle-aged man with a fractured upper lateral incisor treated with immediate placement and simultaneous GBR to repair the dehiscence due to the buccal bone resorption. The third case shows an elderly patient that underwent sinus lifting with the simultaneous placement of two implants. All cases were treated after patients were medically controlled and followed for at least 10 years. Controlled HIV-infected patients undergoing HAART may be candidates to implant rehabilitation, as long as their plasmatic HIV viral load and CD4+ T lymphocytes count are within the parameters that indicate immune stability. Long-term stability of soft and hard tissues can be obtained maintaining function and esthetics. However, stronger evidence, based on prospective, controlled clinical trials is needed to provide the dental and medical teams with conclusive data.