Zygomatic Implants

Your dentist will examine your mouth, medical history and 3-D x-rays and will advise you of the situation. The x-ray may show the bone to be of a poor density or deficient in volume, in which case the Zygomatic implants will be incorporated into your treatment plan at the start. However, in some cases it may appear as though you might be suitable for standard implants, but the surgeon finds the bone to be poor during the surgery, in which case Zygomatic implants would be considered to improve the outcome and enable the subsequent fitting of immediate teeth.

The procedure is performed while you are asleep. Before the surgery commences the area is completely numbed with local anaesthetic to ensure that you are comfortable when you wake up. Compared to standard implants there is usually more swelling, but the pain aspect is no different and rarely do patients need to rely on the strong painkillers that the surgeon prescribes. Most patients can use standard over-the-counter medication, and some feel they don’t even need those.

Zygomatic implants are used as supports in the upper jaw in patients who lack bone volume as a result of bone atrophy from wearing dentures, traumatic injuries, iatrogenic causes from prior failed dental implants or oncological resection. These implants are also used in patients who still have teeth and have an adequate bone volume but where the bone density is low. In such cases of poor bone conventional implants may not reach the requisite stability in order to act as supports for the teeth, and Zygomatic implants is often a more predictable choice. Other than the improved support, the use of zygomatic implants also allows positioning the back implants further towards the back which improves the spread and arch length.