Evaluation of zygomatic bone region for placement of quad zygomatic implants using CBCT in postmenopausal women

Background: Insufficient height and width of the alveolar ridge at the implant site remains with inadequate bone volume following extraction in older age people especially in postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal women are susceptible to primary osteoporosis where more bone resorption than formation is seen resulting in decreased bone mass. Hence the present study aims to evaluate the zygomatic bone region for placement of quad zygomatic implants using CBCT. Materials and Methods : A total of 120 CBCT images of female patients who were between the age group of 45 yrs to 65 yrs were taken. The zygomatic bone was evaluated for pneumatisation zones and thickness of zygomatic bone at three different regions i.e., superior, middle and inferior at nine points on zygoma bone along with bone to implant contact (BIC) region using virtual software. Results: The largest thickness in the superior, middle and inferior regions were at Point A2(8.01+/-2.10 mm), Point B2 (7.01+/-1.62 mm), and Point C1 (6.65+/-1.64 mm), respectively. The virtually placed implants at Point A3 (15.92+/-4.16 mm) and Point B2 (12.02+/-3.62 mm) had the highest BICs. Conclusions : To obtain the largest BICs, results suggested that the posterosuperior region (Point A3) and the centre of zygoma (Point B1) were the optimal places for the placement of quad zygomatic implants. Keywords: Postmenopause, Zygomatic implants, Zygomatic thickness, Bone-to-implant contact.