Impaired healing following implant placement surgery: A case report of a modern-day manifestation of scurvy.

Background: Delayed wound healing following implant placement surgery is an uncommon complication, usually attributed to systemic (smoking and alcohol), local (severely inflamed tissues), or technical (poor suturing) factors. However, delayed wound healing after implant placement caused by severe hypovitaminosis C has not been previously documented.

Methods: This report describes the case of a 40-year-old systemically healthy male who developed delayed wound healing after implant placement, despite having quit smoking 10 months prior to the uneventfully completed surgery and having received successful periodontal treatment for his previously diagnosed periodontitis. Focused history taking suggested possible nutritional deficiency, with subsequent blood testing revealing severe hypovitaminosis C (plasma vitamin C [vitC] level at 0.2 mg/dL).

Results: Following oral vitC supplementation and dietary changes, a marked improvement in tissue healing was observed, and plasma vitC levels returned to within normal levels (0.8 mg/dL). Four months after surgery, vitC levels had increased to 1.2 mg/dL.

Conclusion: Vitamin C deficiency can lead to impaired wound healing following implant placement surgery. Supplementation and diet modification can rapidly correct the deficiency and reverse the associated clinical signs and symptoms. Identification and management of possible nutritional deficiencies requires detailed history taking and targeted blood testing, along with interdisciplinary care.

Key points: Although relatively uncommon, especially in otherwise healthy patients and in developed countries, poor or delayed wound healing after dental implant placement can occur, and the underlying etiology may not be apparent. Severe hypovitaminosis C is a previously unreported cause of such poor wound healing. More focused history taking and indicated blood tests can reveal serious nutritional deficiencies, such as severe lack of vitamin C (vitC), and thus identify uncommon systemic conditions that contribute to the patient's presenting problem. Supplementation with vitC, and dietary changes when indicated, will result in rapid reversal of the signs of hypovitaminosis C and restore to normal the systemic levels of the vitamin.

Plain language summary: Dental implant placement to replace missing teeth is nowadays a routine surgical procedure that results in few complications. Poor or delayed wound healing after implant placement may occur sometimes, and underlying systemic issues, such as smoking, can be one of the causes. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is an essential human nutrient because humans cannot make it. Lack of vitamin C (vitC) can lead to a serious condition called scurvy, which presents with different signs and symptoms, including bleeding gums and poor wound healing. In this report, we describe the case of an otherwise healthy adult male smoker who presented with gum disease (periodontitis), some missing teeth, swollen and bleeding gums, and pain when eating. Ten months after he quit smoking and received periodontal (gum) treatment, he underwent dental implant placement surgery, which resulted in delayed healing. A blood test revealed that the patient had severe vitC deficiency (hypovitaminosis C). Soon after taking vitC and changing his diet to include fresh fruits and vegetables, the gums healed well, and his vitC levels returned to normal. This report highlights for the first time, to our knowledge, the occurrence of delayed wound healing following dental implant placement due to severe vitC deficiency and the rapid improvement of the condition of the gums after proper supplementation with vitC.