Does pre-operative clindamycin administration during dental implant surgery reduce implant failure or post-surgical complications?

Study design Prospective randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial.Cohort selection and data analysis Sixty-two healthy adults who underwent single dental implant placement without previous infection of the surgical bed or the need for bone grafting were included in this clinical trial. They were randomly divided into two groups (test and control). The test group was given a single dose of oral clindamycin (600 mg) one hour before surgery and the control group with a placebo. The surgical procedures were carried out by one oral surgeon and all the patients were observed post-operatively on days 1, 7, 14, 28, and 56 by a single observer for clinical, radiological, surgical variables, adverse events, and complications. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA 15 software and the number required to treat or harm (NNT/NNH) was also evaluated.Results In the test group, the authors observed two implant failures and one patient experienced gastrointestinal disturbances and diarrhoea. They also observed post-operative infections in three patients (two in the control group and one in the test group which eventually failed).Conclusions The authors concluded that pre-operative clindamycin administration during dental implant surgery in healthy adults may not reduce implant failure or post-surgical complications.