The PhD defense will take place

Friday April 21st, 2023
Time: 13.00
Place: Auditorium A, Forskningens Hus, Aalborg Universitetshospital

After the defense there will be held a reception. All are welcome.

About the PhD thesis

Prosthetic rehabilitation of the partially edentulous posterior maxilla with an implantsupported fixed prosthesis is frequently compromised due to atrophy of the alveolar process or pneumatization of the maxillary sinus following loss of teeth.

Therefore, vertical alveolar ridge augmentation is frequently necessary before or in conjunction with placement of implants. MSFA applying the lateral window technique is the most commonly applied surgical procedure to increase the vertical alveolar ridge height of the posterior maxilla prior to or in conjunction with placement of implants. However, harvesting of autogenous bone grafts is associated with a supplementary surgical procedure, risk of donor site morbidity, and unpredictable resorption of the grafting material. Placement of short implants have therefore been advocated as an alternative treatment modality to simplify the surgical procedure and eliminate the need for harvesting of an autogenous bone graft.

The present PhD thesis is based on one systematic review (Paper I) and a randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessing prosthetic rehabilitation in the posterior maxilla with fixed single-crown restorations supported by short implants (6 mm) compared with standard-length implants (13 mm) in conjunction with maxillary sinus floor augmentation (MSFA) after 1-year of functional implant loading with focus on clinical and radiographic parameters (Paper II). In addition, professional and patientreported outcome measures (PROMs) (Paper III) were assessed after 1-year of functional implant loading.

The conclusions of the present PhD thesis indicate that prosthetic rehabilitation of the posterior maxilla with fixed single-crown restorations supported by short implants seems to be suitable treatment alternative compared with placement of standard-length implants in conjunction with MSFA after 1-year of functional implant loading. However, further long-term RCTs involving larger patient samples, assessment of donor site morbidity, and economic perspectives are needed before definite evidence-based clinical implications can be provided for prosthetic rehabilitation of the posterior maxilla with fixed single-crown restorations.