title: Rehabilitation with 4 zygomatic implants with a new surgical protocol using ultrasonic technique.
abstract: When the residual bone crest cannot allow the placement of standard implants, the treatment for complete arch rehabilitation of severely atrophic maxillae can be performed with 4 zygomatic implants (ZIs) and immediate function with predictable results in terms of aesthetics, function, and comfort for the patient. However, even if ZIs' rehabilitations showed a good success rate, this surgery is difficult and need a skillful operator. Complications in this kind of rehabilitation are not uncommon; the main difficulties can be related to the reduced surgical visibility and instrument control in a critical anatomic area. All the surgical protocols described in the literature used drilling techniques. Furthermore, the use of ultrasonic instruments in implant surgery compared with drilling instruments have shown advantages in many aspects of surgical procedures, tissues management, enhancement of control, surgical visualization, and healing. The aim of this study was to report on the preliminary experience using ultrasound technique for ZIs surgery in terms of safety and technical improvement. Ten consecutive patients with severely atrophic maxilla have been treated with 4 ZIs and immediate complete arch acrylic resin provisional prostheses. The patients were followed up from 30 to 32 months evaluating implant success, prosthetic success, and patient satisfaction with a questionnaire. No implants were lost during the study period, with a 100% implant and prosthetic success rate. Within the limitations of this preliminary study, these data indicate that ultrasonic implant site preparation for ZIs can be a good alternative to the drilling technique and an improvement for the surgeon.
authors.affiliation: *SIOM Oral Surgery and Implantology Center, Turin †Department of Health Sciences "A. Avogadro," University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara ‡Oral Surgery Unit, Dentistry Section, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mozzati
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mortellaro
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Arata
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gallesio
authors.forename: Valter
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Previgliano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003758:Dental Implantation, Endosseous / Q000379:methods*; D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007575:Jaw, Edentulous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D015050:Zygoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*