USE OF ENDOSSEOUS IMPLANTS FOR DENTAL RECONSTRUCTION OF PATIENTS WITHGRAFTED ALVEOLAR CLEFTS

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical app lication of endosseous implants placed into grafted alveolar clefts an d to evaluate the short-term outcome. Patients and Methods: Nineteen p atients (6 males and 13 females, mean age, 17.9 years; range, 9.7 to 3 3.6 years at first implant surgery), including 11 with unilateral clef t lip and palate, and eight with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus, we re studied, All patients except for one who underwent periosteoplasty received grafts of autogenous particulate cancellous bone and marrow ( PCBM) obtained from the ilium. After bone bridge formation, orthodonti c treatment and preparation for implant placement were performed. Resu lts: A total of 21 implants were placed in the bone-grafted alveoli of the 19 patients, The most frequently used length was 15 mm. In five p atients with insufficient alveolar bone height, a chin bone onlay graf t was combined with simultaneous implant insertion. The follow-up peri od ranged from 1 year to almost 3 years after implant placement, and t he clinical outcome was excellent in all except one patient. In this s hort-term study, the overall survival rate was 90.5%. Conclusion: The grafted alveoli were well suited to the placement of endosseous implan ts, and this treatment was shown to be a viable option for the dental reconstruction of alveolar clefts. However, the interdental alveolar b one height was insufficient for implant installation in a few patients . Further longitudinal studies are required to determine the optimal t iming between secondary bone grafting and implant placement.