This article is sponsored content brought to you by Victorian Oral and Facial Surgeons.
The atrophic maxilla presents challenges for conventional implant planning. Severe bone resorption can leave insufficient bone in the edentulous maxilla for implant anchorage. In these cases, zygomatic implants are a valuable alternative to conventional implants, as they can avoid the need for complex bone grafting procedures and often shorten the overall treatment process.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Dr Sam Verco, Dr Brent Woods, Dr Jason Savage and Dr Michael Qiu have witnessed the use of zygomatic implants grow over the years. “A growing number of studies demonstrate the long-term success of zygomatic implants and confirm them as a safe and effective alternative to conventional dental implants and bone grafting.”
Victorian Oral and Facial Surgeons has always endeavoured to provide tailored treatment options to suit individual patient needs.“We want patients to have options when they come to our practice” Dr Woods says. “Zygomatic implants can provide an effective solution in some challenging cases where there is little to no residual bone or where conventional implants, or other augmentation procedures have failed.”
Developed by Prof. Dr Brånemark in 1993, zygomatic implants are longer than usual implants and are placed in the cheekbone, often bypassing the need for bone augmentation procedures. Zygomatic implants and a fixed temporary restoration can be placed in one visit, whereas patients may be without a fixed prosthesis (and therefore relying on removable dentures) for months following a bone graft to the atrophic maxilla, to allow for bone regeneration. “This is beneficial for patients with severe maxillary bone loss,” Dr Verco says. “A single surgical procedure enables a quicker return to a normal quality of life, which is the goal for most patients.”
Although the zygomatic implant treatment timeline is shorter, Dr Savage highlights that the procedure is far more surgically complex, requiring a higher level of expertise compared to conventional implants. “Since we are placing implants into the midface, a deep understanding of the facial skeleton is required, and that’s why this procedure is more often completed by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. All of our surgeons at VOFS have the experience and knowledge required to place zygomatic implants successfully.”
Much like with their conventional implants, Victorian Oral and Facial Surgeons turn to Straumann. “We’ve never had any issues using Straumann implants so it was a no brainer to utilise their Zygomatic Implant System” says Dr Qiu. “They have always been dependable and easy to work with.”
Victorian Oral and Facial Surgeons was recently awarded Australia and New Zealand’s first ever Specialist Centre for Implantology, which Dr Verco says reflects their fantastic long-term working relationship. “We’ve been working with Straumann for years and we share the same ongoing dedication to innovation and patient care. Their technologies are reliable and we were honoured to receive this recognition from Straumann.”
