Clinical Evaluation of Zygomatic Implant-Supported Fixed and Removable Prosthesis

The aim of our study was to present success and complication rates of 32 zygomatic implants (ZI) and compare satisfaction of patients rehabilitated with ZI supported hybrid prosthesis in atrophic jaws and removable prosthesis in maxillary defects. Sixteen patients who have been diagnosed as atrophic maxilla or maxillary defect were treated with ZI supported hybrid or removable prosthesis between 2008 and 2016 years, respectively. Thirty-two of 70 implants were placed in the zygomatic bone. Two prosthetic groups were compared 1 month after prosthesis delivery in terms of general satisfaction, stability, performance, esthetics, phonetics, hygiene level based on visual analog scale. Zygomatic implants success rate was found 93.7% after a mean follow-up of 28 +/- 22 months (range 6-96 months). Thirty of 32 ZIs have been functioning with their prosthesis. The rate of biologic complications related to ZIs was found 9.3% and prosthetic complication's rate related to ZI was 3%. Two early failures of ZIs were recorded. Chewing performance (P: 0.003), stability (P: 0.0001), and phonetics (P: 0.003) were found higher in hybrid prosthetic group. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant difference between groups in favor of removable prosthetic group regarding ease of cleaning (P: 0.007). Our study shows high success rate and minimal complications for 32 ZIs. This procedure seems to be an alternative to the bone grafts or sinus lifting techniques in patient of severely resorbed maxilla or to the obturator prosthesis for max-illectomy patients.