Purpose: Patients with maxillary defects after a maxillectomy live with a range of functional and social problems. As techniques for functional reconstruction of the maxilla have been applied in a number of these patients, some of them regained confidence in their lives again. Nevertheless, there was still no clear consensus on the connecting and loading patterns of zygomatic implant-supported prosthetics in bilateral maxillary defects. This study aimed to investigate the function of a novel technique using "three-dimensional ring"-supported prosthetics based on zygomatic implants and compared its effects with two other conventional approaches through assessing the quality of the patient's life.
Materials and methods: Forty-five eligible patients who had different degrees of maxillectomy received treatment of conventional prostheses with a clasp (25 patients, group 1), a regular implant with obturator removal (10 patients, group 2), or a zygomatic implant combined with "three-dimensional ring"-supported prosthetics (10 patients, group 3). A questionnaire that included the indicators of the Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS) and EORTC Head and Neck 35 assessment was employed to evaluate the functional rehabilitation and quality of life (QOL) of patients in the study. The data were then summarized into a worksheet (Excel 2010), and the mean and standard deviation were calculated. The data were processed with SPSS 19.0 for Windows statistical software.
Results: The questionnaire analysis showed a statistically significant difference in the OFS, EORTC H&N 35, and QOL scores between group 3 and group 1 or group 2. Importantly, in the assessment of EORTC H&N 35, the proportion of patients in group 3 who lost weight after the functional restoration of maxillary defection was lower than that of the other two groups. In this research, a new connection device mode, which provided a retentive force between the zygomatic implants and prosthetics through a 3D ring-shaped milling bar with golden galvanized frames, was conducted and proved to be a reliable and feasible functional reconstruction therapy through patients' questionnaire surveys.
Conclusion: This research provided an effective reconstruction strategy for patients with maxillary resection that could remarkably improve the life quality of patients.