Implants placed in combination with an internal sinus lift without graft material: an analysis of short-term failure

Aim: Investigation of the short-term survival of implants placed in combination with an internal sinus lift (ISL) without graft material.
Material and Methods: Thirty-six patients received 92 screw-shaped dental implants in combination with an ISL. No bone grafts or bone substitutes were used. Forty-four patients with 77 implants in the native posterior maxilla served as controls. X-rays taken after implant placement and 6 months later were evaluated for the presence of bone gain at the apical aspect of the implants. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate survival curves and to isolate risk factors for implant failures.
Results: Within a mean observation period of 1.2 years (minimum 9 months; maximum 3.7 years), four failures were recorded in the experimental group and two in the controls. The probability of survival was above 94% for both groups. Six–nine months after surgery, bone gain was observed in 29 out of 92 implants. Comparison of the experimental group and controls revealed no effect of ISL and membrane perforation on the probability of survival.
Conclusions: Promising short-term outcomes were observed for implants with ISL without graft material; for a substantial proportion of implants, apical bone gain was observed in the first 6–9 months.