Purpose: This clinical study using a specific technique was carried out to determine the clinical effectiveness of zygomatic implants under an immediate loading protocol.
Materials and methods: All patients treated between May 2000 and October 2006 who received zygomatic implants were included in this retrospective analysis. All patients were treated using the same surgical and restorative protocol. The following data were recorded: gender, age, type of implant, number of implants placed, dimensions of implants, and implant and prosthesis survival.
Results: Fifty-six consecutive patients (29 women, 27 men; mean age of 60.58 years [range, 38.78 to 84.01]) were treated. All were in need of oral reconstruction and had maxillary atrophy that warranted zygomatic implant placement. One hundred ten zygomatic implants were placed in these 56 patients. Four of the 110 zygomatic implants failed, resulting in a cumulative survival rate of 96.37% with follow-up data no less than 9 months and in excess of 5 years. All four failures were turned-surface zygomatic implants. There have been no failures to date with the titanium anodized-surface zygomatic implants. The prosthesis survival rate was 100.0%.
Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis of 56 patients receiving 110 zygomatic implants, the survival rate of zygomatic implants was in excess of 96% over a period of 9 months to 5 years. This technique resulted in a stable and predictable prosthetic reconstruction.