The Success Rate of Maxillary Sinus Elevation in Implant Osseointegration

Objectives: This case-series study evaluated the success rate of maxillary sinus elevation in implant osseointegration. Methods: Seventy two patients of both genders, presenting maxillary atrophy associated with maxillary sinus pneumatization, were submitted to maxillary sinus elevation surgery in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Center of Piracicaba Dental School – State University of Campinas, Brazil, during the period from 1997 to 2003. The selection of the patients and the surgeries were conducted by four professionals under supervision of one expert operator. Panoramic radiographies and tomography exams were used to select the patients. The exclusion criteria were patients presenting sinus pathologies, taking medication, smokers, pregnant and diabetics. The maxillary sinus elevation surgeries were under local and/or general anesthesia, with or without grafting material (autogenous, homogenous, heterogenous and alloplastic associations), for the setting of 101 implants. The complete implant osseointegration and the success of the prosthetic rehabilitation were considered to evaluate the success of the maxillary surgery. The data were assessed by descriptive statistics and described in percentage values. Results: The prosthetic rehabilitations were aborted in 13 patients (48.61%); 24 patients (33.33%) had received rehabilitation before (unitary crowns, fixed prostheses or overdentures), with a mean follow-up period of 25.54±75 months. In general, the success rate of the surgeries has been around of 88.24%. The autogenous grafting material has been used in 74.72% of the cases. Conclusions: The results suggest that maxillary sinus elevation procedure is favorable to implant osseointegration in maxillary atrophy associated with maxillary sinus pneumatization.