Zygomatic Implants for Patients With Severe Bone Loss
Many patients have been told that they are not candidates for dental implants due to lack of bone in the upper jaw. These patients can benefit from an implant developed by Professor Per Ingvar Brånemark. Zygomatic implants provide an excellent alternative to bone grafting procedures for the severely resorbed jaw bone with minimal surgical trauma and maximum oral function.
Current Grafting Procedures
The incidence of implant loss in the severely resorbed posterior upper jaw is about 15% without the benefit of sinus grafting. Current modalities for reducing implant loss in these areas involves different types of grafting procedures. These grafts vary extensively and include everything from using allografts, alloplasts, and xenograft materials to harvesting bone from the patients chin, calvaria, tibia and hip. Although all have had various degrees of success, there is a significant lack of consensus in all aspects related to procedures of grafting for the severely resorbed posterior upper jaw.
The Fundamental Question
While alternative grafting procedures were being explored worldwide, Professor Brånemark began reexamining the basics of anatomic craniofacial and orthopedic reconstruction. The fundamental question that needed to be answered was “How can we -in a similar, safer, and highly predictable manner – restore function to those patients who have so severely resorbed jaws that standard implants were bound to provide unacceptable results?”
The Solution
Professor Brånemark then conducted extensive studies evaluating craniofacial bone and its load bearing capacity. It was found that the zygomatic bone consistently demonstrated dense quality and acceptable bone volume. If nature could provide the dense type of bone we already know offers the most predictable anchorage (osseointegration), wouldn’t it be a significant improvement to use this bone compared to conducting extensive grafting procedures?
Brånemark and his team treated the first patient with zygomatic implants in 1989. In a follow up study of implants in function up to ten years, 97 implants were evaluated. The cumulative success rates for this new implant was 96.8%.
Zygomatic Implant Therapy
Pi Dental Center is now pleased to provide Zygomatic implant therapy for patients with severely resorbed upper jaws. We would be very happy to evaluate any individual who has substantial bone loss and may be a candidate for the zygomatic implant treatment. Please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions you may have about the zygomatic implant or about referring your family and friends to Pi Dental Center for consultation or treatment.
Quadruple Zygomatic Implant Support For Retreatment Of Resorbed Iliac Crest Bone Graft Transplant
