Dental implants are a fantastic solution to replace missing teeth—but they require sufficient bone mass in your jaw. If you have severe bone loss in your upper jaw, zygomatic implants may be the solution.

Instead of anchoring the implants in your jawbone, zygomatic implants are actually anchored in your cheekbones. Zygomatic implants can support bridges, single implants and fixed dentures. If you assumed you couldn’t get implants due to bone loss, Dr. Mike at Cleveland Implant Institute can evaluate whether zygomatic implants are right for you.

Bone loss and dental implants

Bone loss and reduced bone density can occur for a number of reasons. Often, the jawbone degrades after tooth loss. Bone atrophy—a natural process—can also be exacerbated by dentures. Osteoporosis and other health conditions may render the upper jaw unsuitable for traditional implants, which have a single “root” placed in the jawbone.

In some circumstances, bone grafting can rebuild the jaw enough to support implants. Pieces of bone are grafted onto the existing jaw, then allowed to heal and integrate. Once the jaw has healed, traditional implants can be placed.

Unfortunately, sometimes the bone loss is too severe for traditional dental implants.

How are zygomatic implants anchored?

While traditional dental implants are vertically anchored, zygomatic implants bypass the upper jaw. They are angled inward to reach the cheekbones. As a result, the “roots” are much longer than a traditional implant.

Zygomatic implants have one big advantage over traditional implants: since cheekbones are denser than the upper jaw, the stress of the implant is spread over a larger area. This allows for immediate bridge placement at the time of surgery and dentures are not required as the bone heals.

When implant surgery is performed by a highly skilled and experienced surgeon like Dr. Mike, it is completely safe and effective. This is an outpatient procedure that typically requires two to three days of recovery. In a week, you should be back to your normal schedule.

Benefits of zygomatic implants

Zygomatic implants offer many benefits:

• Replace missing teeth, even after bone loss: The advantage zygomatic implants is they can replace missing teeth, even if the upper jaw is too weak to support traditional implants.
• No need for bone grafting: Bone grafting can add several months to the implant and healing process. Zygomatic implants bypass the grafting process and allow for immediate placement.
• Eat and drink normally: All types of dental implants allow you to eat, drink and speak as you would your natural teeth.
• Natural-looking smile: Get your natural-looking smile back with zygomatic implants—they’re designed to look just like your natural teeth.
• Can be combined with other implant types: Finally, zygomatic implants can be used, even when you currently have other types of implants.

If you’re interested in learning more  about zygomatics implant, schedule an appointment with Dr. Mike today at Cleveland Implant Institute.