A 5‐Year Prospective Follow‐Up Study of Implant‐Supported Fixed Prostheses in Patients Subjected to Maxillary Sinus Floor Augmentation with an 80:20 Mixture of Bovine Hydroxyapatite and Autogenous Bone

BACKGROUND: Prospective long-term follow-up studies evaluating the use of bone substitutes to enable dental implant placement and integration are rare. PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to evaluate the survival rate of dental implants placed 6 months after maxillary sinus floor augmentation using a mixture of 80% bovine hydroxyapatite (BH) and 20% autogenous bone (AB). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty patients subjected to 30 maxillary sinus floor grafting procedures using fibrin glue and an 80:20 mixture of BH and AB to enable placement of dental implants 6 months later were followed for 5 years of functional loading. Clinical and radiographic examinations of the grafts and implants were performed. RESULTS: After 5 years of functional loading with fixed bridges, 15 of 108 implants had been lost, giving a cumulative survival rate of 86%. The mean marginal bone loss after 5 years was 1.3 +/- 1.1 mm. CONCLUSION: Grafting of the maxillary sinus with a mixture of BH and AB and later placements of turned implants could be performed with predictable long-term results. All but one of the patients who were observed had functional fixed bridges after 5 years of functional loading.