Can jaw bone healed from chronic sclerosing osteomyelitis be considered healthy when planning dental implants? Case report with 20-year follow-up.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Extraction of mandibular third molars can lead to complications such as chronic sclerosing osteomyelitis (CSO), an inflammatory bone marrow disease that tends to progress. CSO involves the cortical plates and often the periosteal tissues and is caused by a variety of microorganisms, including Corynebacterium spp. The treatment of chronic osteomyelitis (CO) and CSO remains challenging, as there is no universal treatment protocol. This case report investigated whether jaw bone that has healed from chronic sclerosing osteomyelitis can be considered healthy bone when planning dental implants.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 21-year-old Caucasian woman developed CO and CSO after third molar surgery.

CLINICAL DISCUSSION: A combination of alveolar ridge bone resection, extraction of teeth 47-32, and long-term specific antibiotic therapy against Corynebacterium spp. was administered. An attempt at preprosthetic alveolar ridge reconstruction with an anterior superior iliac crest bone graft resulted in graft failure and the patient refused further harvesting procedures. Implantation in the intraforaminal zone also resulted in the loss of two implants after loading. Finally, inferior alveolar nerve transposition resulted in the successful reimplantation of two implants, which were fully functional almost 11 years later.

CONCLUSION: This case report presents the treatment history of this patient. With a longitudinal observation period of greater than 20 years, the results of this case demonstrate the successful treatment of bone with CO, CSO, and Corynebacterium spp. infection. Following the removal of infected bone, radical debridement, and long-term antibiotic therapy, bone health was restored.