Restoratively driven planning for implants in the posterior maxilla - Part 2: implant planning, biomechanics and prosthodontic planning a proposed prosthodontic complexity index

Restoratively driven implant planning in the posterior maxilla requires a comprehensive understanding of the anatomical and physiological changes of the alveolar bone following tooth extraction and sinus augmentation. As a part of restoratively driven planning, alveolar bone, inter-arch relationships, proposed crown-implant ratio and anticipated non-axial loading should be assessed pre-operatively. This helps determine the prosthodontic and surgical aspects of implant treatment, such as prosthesis design, implant number, implant angulation, implant length and the necessity for additional bone grafting procedures. However, currently no implant planning classification is restoratively driven and include these important prosthodontic considerations. Therefore, a new index - the Posterior Maxilla Prosthodontic Index - is defined to encourage restoratively driven implant planning in the posterior maxilla.