Treatment options for severely atrophic maxillae

Abstract

In this chapter, two main treatment options for severely edentulous atrophic posterior maxillae—bone augmentation procedure and zygomatic implant application—are presented. Poor bone quality and insufficient bone volume due to critical jawbone atrophy in the posterior maxillae are addressed as the main factors contribute to the failure of dental implant system. The rationales behind the introduction of each treatment option are discussed and compared for a better understanding. As this text placed an emphasis on the use of zygomatic implants, a high focus is given to this section covering the specification of zygomatic implants, advantages and disadvantages, indications and contraindications of treatment, types of surgical approach for the implant placement and survival rate of implants. This chapter provides sufficient information on the treatment of patient with severely atrophic posterior maxillae specifically via the use of nongrafting procedure, zygomatic implant. The application of zygomatic implant is gaining popularity over conventional bone augmentation procedure as a treatment modality.