Zygomatic implants are designed for patients with severe upper-jaw bone loss who've been turned away from traditional implant procedures elsewhere. We're one of the few clinics in the Sacramento area that performs them.
A traditional dental implant is a small titanium fixture placed into your upper or lower jaw bone. It works because there's enough healthy bone to anchor the implant.
For some patients, that bone is gone. Years of missing teeth, severe gum disease, sinus expansion, trauma, or congenital conditions can erode the upper jaw to the point where a traditional implant has nothing to grip. Most clinics tell these patients they need bone grafting first, a 6β12 month process that's expensive, painful, and not always successful,
Zygomatic implants take a different approach. Instead of placing implants in the upper jaw, they anchor much longer titanium fixtures into the zygomatic bone, the cheekbone. The zygomatic bone is dense, doesn't shrink with tooth loss, and is virtually always available, even in patients with severe upper-jaw atrophy.
This means: no bone graft required, no 12-month wait, and same-day fixed teeth in most cases.
Zygomatic implant placement requires advanced surgical training beyond general dental implantology. Most general dentists never learn it. Many implant-focused clinics don't offer it because of the learning curve and the equipment requirements, full general anesthesia capability is essentially required. As a specialty surgical center with general anesthesia and Dr. Badyal's surgical leadership, we're equipped for the cases other clinics turn away,
Zygomatic isn't a first-line procedure, it's the right answer for a specific situation.
And you're frustrated by the prospect of bone grafting + 12 months of waiting.
Long-term denture use accelerates upper-jaw bone loss, zygomatic is often the cleanest path back to fixed teeth.
Sometimes traditional implants don't integrate. Zygomatic is a viable second-attempt strategy.
Advanced periodontal disease often destroys upper-jaw bone. Zygomatic bypasses the problem entirely.
If your bone density supports traditional implants, we'll do that, it's less complex and proven for decades.
The lower jaw rarely loses bone severely enough to need zygomatic. Traditional or All-on-4 is the right approach.
The zygomatic implant path passes near the sinus, we need to clear any active infection first.
The procedure is more demanding on healing, we require quitting at least 2 weeks before, 8 weeks after.
CBCT scan + medical history. We map your zygomatic bone to confirm candidacy and develop a custom surgical plan.
Dr. Sunny Badyal reviews your case with the surgical team. Implant trajectories are mapped in 3D software around your sinus and infraorbital nerve.
Full general anesthesia. 2-4 zygomatic implants placed (sometimes combined with 0-2 traditional implants for hybrid cases).
In most cases, your same-day temporary prosthesis is attached before you wake. You'll have functional, fixed teeth on the same day.
The zygomatic implants integrate with the cheekbone over 4β6 months. You wear your same-day prosthesis throughout.
Once integration is confirmed, your final zirconia or premium acrylic prosthesis is delivered.
This isn't a procedure you can do with a panoramic X-ray and oral sedation.
Required to plan zygomatic implant trajectories around the sinus and infraorbital nerve. We use it for every case.
Custom-printed guides ensure implants follow the exact trajectory planned in 3D software. Critical for zygomatic placement.
Standard at hospitals, rare at dental clinics. Required for zygomatic, the procedure is too long and complex for sedation alone.
Your temporary prosthesis is fabricated and ready before you leave the operating room.
Magnification used for precision in tight surgical fields. Improves outcomes on complex cases.
Hospital-grade surgical environment, sterile, monitored, with full anesthesia equipment. Not a converted operatory.
Both Dr. Maninder and Dr. Tanvir Singh are University of the Pacific graduates with deep training in implant dentistry. They place implants daily at Apex.
University of the Pacific graduate. Co-owner of a dental practice in Fair Oaks. Hundreds of implants placed. Also serves as a general dentist for the U.S. military, providing emergency dental care for soldiers prior to deployment.
UOP Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry graduate. Active member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), working toward Diplomate status. Internationally trained, licensed to practice in the U.S. Canada, and India.
Almost certainly yes. The zygomatic bone (cheekbone) is dense and rarely lost, even in patients with severe upper-jaw atrophy, decades of denture wear, or failed prior implants. The 3D CT scan at your free consultation will tell us definitively.
For most severe-bone-loss cases: zygomatic is faster (1 surgery vs 2), cheaper (one procedure vs graft + implants), more predictable (95%+ success rate vs 70β85% for grafting), and gets you to fixed teeth sooner (same day vs 12+ months).
No. Zygomatic surgery at Apex is performed exclusively under full general anesthesia by a board-certified anesthesiologist. You're completely asleep, not sedated. You won't feel or remember the procedure.
Custom-quoted at consultation because case complexity varies significantly. At your free consultation we provide the exact total, including financing options. Most cases finance in the $400β$600/month range.
Long-term clinical data shows zygomatic implants have success rates above 95% at 10+ years, comparable to or better than traditional implants. The fixtures are designed to last for life.
More involved than traditional implants but easier than most patients expect. Days 1β7: liquid then soft food, mild swelling, prescription pain management for 3β4 days. By month 2 you're eating normally.
Partially in most cases. Insurance typically covers the extractions and a portion of the implants. We run your benefits at the consultation.
Zygomatic is a smaller portion of our 700+ All-on-X case volume, these are specifically severe-bone-loss patients. Every case is reviewed by Medical Director Dr. Sunny Badyal as part of our surgical planning protocol.
Conventional dental implants are placed into the upper or lower jaw bone (the maxilla or mandible). When that bone has resorbed too far β typically from years of upper denture wear, advanced periodontal disease, or trauma β there's not enough bone volume to support a standard implant fixture, even with grafting. Most clinics at this point tell the patient that implants are not an option, recommend continued denture use, or suggest sinus lift and bone graft procedures that take 6-12 months of additional healing before any implant placement can begin. For patients who have already lived with the consequences of severe upper-jaw bone loss for years, that's not an acceptable timeline.
Zygomatic implants are a specialty procedure that anchors into the zygoma (cheekbone) instead of the maxilla. The cheekbone is dense, rarely resorbs, and provides excellent anchorage for an implant fixture even when the upper jaw bone has effectively disappeared. The procedure was developed by BrΓ₯nemark in the late 1990s specifically for the severe-bone-loss patient population, and 20+ years of follow-up data shows survival rates above 95% at 10 years β comparable to conventional implants in patients with adequate bone. The clinical advantage is significant: no bone grafting required, no 6-month wait for graft integration, and immediate same-day temporary teeth at the surgical visit.
Zygomatic is not a procedure that every implant clinic can offer. The surgical anatomy involves working close to the maxillary sinus and orbital structures, requiring CBCT-based planning and a surgeon experienced specifically with zygomatic placement. Apex offers zygomatic implants as part of our specialty surgical scope. Most of our zygomatic patients are referred to us by clinics that don't perform the procedure, or arrive after being told elsewhere that implants weren't possible for their case.
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