Bone grafts and implants in the treatment of the severely resorbed maxillae: a 3-year follow-up of the prosthetic restoration.

Thirty patients with severely resorbed maxillae were treated in a one-stage procedure using bone graft and implant placement. A horseshoe-shaped bone graft was taken from the iliac wing and fixed to the residual maxillary ridge using titanium implants, which supported the prostheses placed after a 6-month healing period. The material constituted two groups: a development group, the first 10 patients; and a routine group, the following 20 patients. At the 3-year follow-up, the implant survival was 87.5% and the prosthesis stability was 100% in the routine group. The probing depth did not change during the follow-up period, while the grafted region decreased in volume during the first postoperative year. The patients reported improved chewing ability and improved life quality. Very few technical and prosthodontic complications occurred.