Evidence-Based Criteria for Differential Treatment Planning of Implant Restorations for the Maxillary Edentulous Patient.

Since the introduction of the endosseous concept to North America in 1982, there have been new permutations of the original ad modum Branemark design to meet the unique demands of treating the edentulous maxilla with an implant restoration. While there is a growing body of clinical evidence to assist the student, faculty, and private practitioner in the algorithms for design selection, confusion persists because of difficulty in assessing the external and internal validity of the relevant studies. The purpose of this article is to review clinician- and patient-mediated factors for implant restoration of the edentulous maxilla in light of the hierarchical level of available evidence, with the aim of elucidating the benefit/risk calculus of various treatment modalities.