Sjögren's syndrome (SS), an autoimmune disorder, affects the exocrine glands, including the lacrimal and salivary glands. It is characterized by symptoms of dry eye and dry mouth. As secretion of saliva decreases, patients with SS experience rampant caries, pain in the oral mucosa, inflammation and hardening of the salivary glands, abnormal taste, dysphagia, and loss of teeth earlier than healthy individuals. A removable partial denture is often used as a prosthesis after tooth loss. Compromised salivary lubrication, however, can produce traumatic ulceration of the mucosa, making use of a removable prosthesis in SS patients painful. In such cases, a dental implant is likely to be requested as an alternative. This report describes dental implant treatment in an SS patient, a 50-year-old woman who presented with the chief complaint of masticatory dysfunction and pain due to a removable partial denture. Eight implants were placed in the maxillary and mandibular first molar tooth and second molar tooth regions. Following a 4-month non-loading period, second-stage surgery and provisional restoration with a screwretained implant temporary crown were performed. Screw-retained superstructures were fitted by means of a customized titanium abutment and zirconia crown as the final restoration. No complications, including inflammation of peri-implant soft tissue or resorption of peri-implant bone, were observed at 3 years following placement of the superstructures.
Keywords: Implant treatment; Sjögren's syndrome.