The aim of this study was to determine the survival rates of implants placed in grafted maxillary sinuses and compare the results obtained with graft materials, implant surfaces and timing of implant placement.

Between January 1996 and December 2005, 391 implants were placed in 161 patients who underwent sinus grafting treatment simultaneously or separately at Ewha Womans University Hospital. According to inclusion criteria, 272 implants were placed in 102 patients with 112 sinus grafts (30 females, 72 males), aged 26 to 88 years (mean age 49.0±9.7). The follow-up period ranged from 12 to 134 months (mean F/U 47±32). Survival rates were evaluated according to graft material, implant surface and timing of implant placement. The Kaplan-Meier procedure and the log rank (Mantel-Cox) test were used to estimate survival rates and test for equality of survival rates between different groups of patients.

Ten-year cumulative survival rate for implants placed in the grafted sinuses was 90.1%. The survival rates for autogenous bone, combination and bone substitutes were 94.6%, 85.9% and 100%, respectively (p > 0.05). According to implant surface, survival rates were 84.8% in machined group and 97.5% in rough group (p < 0.05). The survival rates were 92.9% in delayed group and 86.0% in simultaneous group (p > 0.05).

Ten-year cumulative survival rate for implants placed in the grafted sinuses was 90.1%. Rough-surfaced implants have a higher survival rate than machined-surfaced implants when placed in grafted sinuses (p < 0.05).