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Do sensation differences exist between dental implants and natural teeth?: a meta‐analysis
Author(s) -
Higaki Nobuaki,
Goto Takaharu,
Ishida Yuichi,
Watanabe Megumi,
Tomotake Yoritoki,
Ichikawa Tetsuo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
clinical oral implants research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.407
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1600-0501
pISSN - 0905-7161
DOI - 10.1111/clr.12271
Subject(s) - dentistry , sensation , osseointegration , medicine , cochrane library , meta analysis , implant , prosthodontics , dental implant , orthodontics , psychology , surgery , neuroscience
Objective The purpose of this systematic review was to survey evidence pertaining to the sensation differences between natural teeth and osseointegrated dental implants. Material and methods Using the MEDLINE (online PubMed) database, Cochrane Library, and Scientific Citation index, we performed a systematic search of articles. We used the following search terms: “perception or sensation and dental implant.” The systematic review of the extracted articles was performed to see the sensation differences between natural teeth and dental implants. Results A total of six studies on oral sensation, “tactile sensibility,” and “thickness discrimination” were included in the meta‐analysis. As to the “tactile sensibility”, all studies indicated the threshold levels of the implants were about 4–20 times higher than that of natural teeth. The tactile sensibility of an implant was significantly higher than that of a natural tooth, with an standardized mean difference ( SMD ) of 8.3619 (95% CI , 6.3920–10.3317) and a P < 0.0001. As to the “thickness discrimination”, all studies indicated the threshold levels of implants were about 1.2–2.3 times higher than that of natural teeth. The thickness discrimination was significantly higher than that of natural teeth with an SMD of 1.2368 (95% CI , 0.8699–1.6038) and a P < 0.0001. Conclusion This meta‐analysis suggested that both tactile sensibility and thickness discrimination thresholds of implants were significantly higher than those of natural teeth. This meta‐analysis reconfirms that sensation differences between dental implants and natural teeth exist.