Azevedo ACS, Soares MM, Merli L3 and Caminero
Osseo integrated implants are the most effective tool in the rehabilitation of totally or partially edentulous patients. However, bone atrophy is an obstacle to the use of such implants. Severe maxillary resorption limits the installation of conventional implants and necessitates alveolar reconstructive procedures that use autogenous bone grafts harvested from the ilium or from intra oral donor sites. Such procedures increase the morbidity and cost of treatment. In 1984, as an alternative to the use of large bone reconstruction, Branemark proposed that the zygoma be used as an anchorage point for long implant-supported prostheses. Such zygomatic implants are now the most effective bone graft option in the rehabilitation of edentulous patients with severely resorbed maxilla. However, among partially edentulous patients, zygomatic implants are only indicated in hemi-maxillectomized patients. The aims of this clinical report were to present the cases of four patients, each of whom was rehabilitated using a single zygomatic implant on one side of the maxilla; evaluate the success of implant stabilization. The present report shows the feasibility of zygomatic implants in the treatment of partial maxillary edentulism. Despite the good results achieved in this report, more case studies involving a larger number of patients.