Information sources

Four electronic databases were used to systematically search the available literature: (1) The National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE via PubMed), (2) EMBASE, (3) Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and (4) Science Direct. The searches were limited to studies involving human subjects and publication dates from January 1980 to August 2017 that satisfied the inclusion criteria.

Search

The following search terms were used: Population: (<[text words] dental implant OR dental implant* OR oral implant OR oral implants OR osseointegrated implants OR endosseous implant OR dental implantation <[MeSH terms/all subheadings] AND (<[text words] head neck OR squamous cell carcinoma OR oncology OR tumour OR cancer OR malignant OR neoplasm <[MeSH terms/all subheadings] AND Intervention: free flap OR vascularized flap OR hard tissue graft OR micro vascularized flap OR micro anastomosed flap OR anastomosed flap OR native bone OR DCIA OR deep circumflex iliac artery OR radial OR scapula OR fibula OR iliac OR rib OR costochondral <[MeSH terms/all subheadings].

Study selection

Two reviewers (DL and RK) carried out the primary search by screening independently the titles and abstracts and identifying the studies appearing to meet the inclusion criteria. Studies with insufficient information in the title and abstract to make a clear decision were identified and the full paper was reviewed. Those studies selected for evaluation of the full manuscript were carried out independently by the same reviewers who determined the final inclusion. Any disagreement was resolved by discussion with a third independent reviewer (OA). The reasons for rejecting studies at this or subsequent stages were recorded.

Data collection process

Two reviewers (DL and RK) then independently extracted the data using a bespoke data extraction form. Any disagreement was resolved by discussion with a third reviewer (OA). Studies with missing or incomplete data were excluded and reference lists of the selected studies were checked for cross-references to search for papers that might meet the eligibility criteria for inclusion.