[Immediate implantation following tooth extraction in fresh maxillary molar socket with poor bone quality]

To explore the feasibility of immediate implantation after tooth extraction in the maxillary molar socket with poor bone quality beneath the sinus.

We collected the data from the patients undergoing extraction of maxillary molars with poor bone quality between the sockets and sinuses. Sinus lifting and immediate implant following the extraction were performed simultaneously in these cases, and the primary stability of the implants, wound healing, and changes of the sinus were observed. At 6 months after the operations, the crowns were installed on the implants. The masticatory function was observed, and the growth of the alveolar bones and their changes after the operations were examined using microcomputed tomography (MCT).

We analyzed 32 extraction cases with immediate implantation in the maxillary molar sockets with poor bone quality beneath the sinus. The average age of the patients was 59.8 years, and the length and diameter of the implant ranged from 8.5 to 10 mm and from 4.5 to 5.5 mm, respectively. The torque force of the implants varied from the minimum (in which cases the implants remained fixed after insertion with fingers) to the maximum of 30 N·cm. The postoperative recovery was uneventful in all the cases and no failed or movable implants were found. At 6 months after the operation, none of the patients showed abnormalities in the sinus, and in all the cases the crowns were successfully installed on the implants with good recovery of the masticatory functions. Follow-up of the patients for 12 to 96 months after the operation showed successful immediate implantation in all the cases. After the operation, the changes of the mean alveolar ridge heights on the buccal, palatal, mesial, and distal sides of the patients were 0.8069±0.6253 mm (t=1.2904, P>0.1), 0.5272± 0.3331 mm (t=1.5836, P>0.05), 0.5416±0.4048 mm (t=1.3379, P>0.05), and 0.5172±0.3874 mm (t=1.3351, P>0.05), respectively; the change of the alveolar ridge width was 0.5522±0.4381 mm (t=1.2604, P>0.1) mm. The dimension of the alveolar bone underwent no significant changes after the operation in these patients.

Immediate implantation in the maxillary extraction socket with a poor bone quality can avoid damages to the sinus and achieve good outcomes with such advantages of less trauma, full use of the innate gingiva and alveolar ridge, and well preserved morphology of the alveolar ridge as compared with delayed implantation.