Pterygoid Implants for Rehabilitation of Posterior Atrophic Maxilla

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate the survival rates of pterygoid implants in patients affected by severe atrophy of the posterior maxilla.

Materials and methods: A total of 133 articles were found by searching through electronic databases like pubmed, google scholar, science direct, research gate, springer open, Cochrane library, semantic scholar. On further screening of articles for title, abstracts and on application of exclusion criteria, 62 articles were selected. 58 potentially relevant articles were removed after removal of duplicates. 4 articles were taken for the final systematic review after applying the inclusion criteria.

Results: A total of 288 patients were rehabilitated 1,357 pterygoid implants. The range of follow-up varied from 3 years to 10 years. The mean cumulative survival rate calculated was 97.08%. Mean diameter of implants used were 4mm. Majority of implants varied in length of 13mm to 20mm. A total of 73 implants failed, before loading from a lack of osseointegration. All the implants analysed in this study had mean bone loss of 1.3mm (21.66%).

Conclusion: This systematic review suggests that, pterygoid implants are a magnificent and viable alternative to other posterior implants of the maxilla, especially in cases of atrophy. It offers a series of advantages such as: excellent posterior bone support without the need for bone grafts, reduction of pain and morbidity in the postoperative period, high biomechanical stability, high survival rate and their minimal intraoperative and postoperative complications and good acceptance by patients.