Treatment of oroantral communication

Abstract

One hundred and fourteen patients with oroantral communication were operated at the Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Dental Faculty, University of Oslo, during the 4-year period 1968–1972. The closure method used was the buccal nonrotating flap technique as described by Môczár in 1930. Five cases (4.3 %) failed to heal primarily. Three of these healed spontaneously within 1 month postoperatively. Preoperative diagnostic procedures are described as well as the Môczár surgical approach and the follow-up regime. Vestibular height was found to have normalized in 88% of the patients examined. The gingival condition was examined before and after surgery in 61 patients. In all these cases, pocket depths were found to have been reestablished to preoperative values within 3 months postoperatively. Requirements of the optimal surgical procedure for closure of oroantral communication are stressed, and the most common errors causing failure or recurrence are listed.