USE OF TITANIUM DENTAL IMPLANTS AS AN INTEGRATED PART OF A CLP PROTOCOL

The problem of edentulousness in the cleft area of patients with cleft lip and palate was formerly resolved with a conventional fixed bridge construction, but this approach did not always prove optimal. Nowaday s, in these patients the bridge can be substituted by a crown on an os seointegrated titanium implant fixture. The concept of dental rehabili tation using titanium implants has gradually merged into our routine t reatment for patients with cleft lip and palate. In this report we des cribe our surgical technique using osseointegrated titanium implants a nd evaluate our result in patients with cleft lip and palate. Sixteen patients with cleft lip and palate, 11 men and five women, were divide d into two groups: group 1 consisted of six patients who did not need bone grafting prior to the fixture installation, and group 2 comprised 10 patients who had additional bone grafting three months before the fixture installation. Abutments were applied six months after fixture installation. Dental crowns and fixed bridges were then constructed. A ll patients were seen on regular follow-up visits. Routine roentgenogr ams were obtained preoperatively and when the abutments were applied. Photographs were taken at these occasions and also after the prosthodo ntic work was completed. Of a total of 31 fixtures, all except two wer e osseointegrated at the time of the abutment connection, and the rema ining 29 have all been functional during the observation period, givin g a success rate of 93%. In group 1 all fixtures (100%) were osseointe grated. The non-integrated fixtures were found in group 2 giving a suc cess rate of 91% in this group. The mean follow-up time after fixture installation was six years and three months, and the mean observation time with loaded fixtures was five years and six months.